Spirits, Spirits, Spirits of the Lake
by SonicFanaticInc
Summary: We've all heard myths and scary stories as kids, but we never would have thought in a million years they could be true. The same was true for Sonic and co. when they stumbled across a supposedly haunted lake. Little did they know, it would spark a chain of events that would test their bonds and make them question everything they thought they knew about each other and reality.
1. Discovering Suicide Lake

**Spirits, Spirits, Spirits of the Lake**

**Author's Note: Hello FanFiction! Sorry this story is a week or two late but it went from was supposed to be a one-shot into a full blown story! Needless to say though it is complete and I'll upload it in its entirety for your reading enjoyment. Hope you like it!**

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><p>It was a gorgeous fall evening in the Emerald Forest as twilight descended on the area where Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and Miky lived. The four friends were taking a stroll through the forest and enjoying each other's company while taking in the beauty of fall. The leaves on the trees were a rainbow of golds, oranges, browns, and reds. They fell from their branches and drifted lazily on the cool autumn breezes that preceded the harsh howls of winter.<p>

Tails flew up into the branches of a nearby tree, his namesakes blowing a clump of leaves from the branches, "Ah, I love this time of year! Just look at these colors!"

"I like it because I can do this!" agreed Sonic as he whipped up a small twister that picked up the leaves and turned it into an autumn colored tornado.

Knuckles stepped back from the swirling column of leaves, "Hey, watch it! A leaf almost poked me in the eye!"

"Oh lighten up Knuckles! It beautiful!" said Miky as she tried to catch leaves in her hands, a grin spread on her face. With a smile, Sonic swirled the tornado towards Miky so the two of them were standing in the center. They laughed as they tried to grab leaves from the twister and Tails joined in laughing with them. Knuckles shook his head with a chuckle and made half-hearted grabs at the swirling leaves.

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><p>As they continued their walk, Tails looked to the rapidly darkening sky and pointed out, "The moon is going to be out soon. We should head home." Everyone nodded in agreement and turned to head back but Miky stopped and looked around once more, taking in the sight and smell of the forest engulfed in autumn.<p>

As she looked though, she noticed that the area seemed familiar, "Hey you guys hold up for a minute…"

"What is it?" asked Sonic as he looked about too, "Does something here jog your memory?"

"Not about my past if that's what you mean." She replied, "Do you guys remember when I told you about that creepy lake I found in the forest one night when I was exploring?"

Knuckles scratched his head in thought, "Barely. That was like a month ago. Why?"

"Well, I haven't been able to find it since. But now that I'm looking around here, I'm almost positive I was in this area when I found that path…"

Tails flew up slightly to get a better view, "This area doesn't look any different than the rest of the forest Miky. In fact, it's getting hard to tell; we're losing daylight fast." The light was indeed dimming around them and the friends found themselves blinking and rubbing their eyes in an effort to speed up the adjustment to the lesser amount of light.

"That's why they invented the flashlight though." Suggested Sonic, "Doesn't the Miles Electric have an app for that, Tails? It's got an app for just about everything else."

"I don't think that'll be necessary. Look." Knuckles pointed up in the sky where a large, full moon was climbing into the sky. Its light shone down through the branches of the forest and gave everything it touched a silvery, pale glow. Miky, who had always been fascinated by natural beauty, turned about with wide eyes as she absorbed the transformed forest.

She spotted what appeared to be a pool of moonlight in the distance and tilted her head in confusion, "Does anyone else see that?"

Tails looked and squinted, "Yeah, it looks like a break in the canopy where the moon is shining through."

"Maybe that's the way to the lake?"

"I'd rather not go tramping through the forest in the dark, thank you." Said Knuckles as he crossed his arms, "I'd rather go back to Angel Island and make sure the Master Emerald is alright."

Sonic rolled his eyes, "It's a big, shiny rock Knux; I don't think it's going anywhere. Let's just follow it a little bit and see where it goes. If we don't find anything after five minutes we turn around and go home."

"Fine, let's go and be done with it." Together they began to walk towards the pool of moonlight. The space between them and the pool was pitch black so it was slow going. They stepped carefully to avoid tripping on plants and rocks. Being the klutz she was though, Miky stumbled over a tree root and began to fall but Sonic reached out and caught her by the wrist.

He pulled her up and said, "Here, I'll walk a little ahead of you to feel out any obstacles ok?" Miky nodded as she regained her footing. Her hand slipped neatly into Sonic's, who squeezed it ever so slightly and smiled at her. Hand in hand with Sonic leading the way, the two began to slowly pick their way forward. Behind them, Tails was stifling snickers while Knuckles made gagging motions.

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><p>They made it to the pool of moonlight to discover that it was the beginning of an illuminated trail that wound into the dark of the forest. Miky looked around once more and said with a nod, "This is definitely the path. We found it." She looked at the guys and jerked her thumb in the direction of the path, "Well let's go. Why are we still standing here?" The guys exchanged a nervous look but nevertheless, they began walking down the path.<p>

As they went, Tails commented, "You know, this reminds me of an old urban legend: the legend of Suicide Lake."

Miky scoffed, "Suicide Lake? Let me guess, it's a haunted lake full of ghosts?"

"Actually yes. The legend says that those who were too saddened to go with life would be led to the lake by the light of the full moon where they would drown themselves in the murky depths." Continued Tails, putting a little dramatic flair on his voice to emphasize the spookiness.

Sonic added, "I heard that they've never retrieved a body from the lake because the water is so dark, so murky, and its depths go on forever."

"That's ridiculous. It's got to have a bottom. Every lake has a bottom. When I was there the water was murky but not that murky. Sounds like bogus to me." Retorted Miky. "Besides, I bet like two people drowned there and then people made up that dumb story."

Knuckles shook a gloved finger at her, "Oh no, a lot more than two people drowned there. There's been dozens of suicides and there have been murders and accidents too. There's a second part to the legend as well."

"And what's that?"

"At the lake, there's this rock that juts out over the deepest part of the lake and that's where people would jump off into the water and drown. They call it Jumping Rock and according to the legend, if you say the rhyme, 'Spirits, Spirits, Spirits of the lake, show me your faces in the pebble's wake.' Then throw a pebble into the water, you can see the faces of everyone who's drowned there in the ripples."

Miky rolled her eyes, "Really? There's no such thing as ghosts!"

"I wouldn't say that Miky," put in Sonic, "Trust me, I've seen some weird and impossible things and if it's taught me anything, it's that anything can happen and you never know what will happen until it does."

Tails nodded, "I agree. Science can explain everything but there ARE some things that science can't explain YET."

"You too Tails? Come Knuckles, you don't believe this fairy tale do you?" asked Miky as she turned to the dread-sporting guardian expectantly.

He shrugged in response, "I could go either way really. I can feel the Chaos Energy that pumps through the world and through our bodies. That being said, I've been to a couple places that, while abandoned, are still packed with energy and feel as if there's still crowds of people wandering around. So, who knows?"

"Well, I know that I don't believe in ghosts. If your dead, why would you stick around?" said Miky thoughtfully, "There's nothing to d- whoa… look." Miky pointed at the end of the trail where they could see the bank of the lake. They rounded the bend and got a full view of the body of water, "This is it! This is the lake!" It was a fairly large lake and the moonlight lit up the water with an eerie pale glow. A huge rock extended out over the placid water and the shore was covered in loose, pebbly gravel.

"Whoa… Its Suicide Lake… I didn't think it ACTUALLY existed…" mumbled Tails in surprise.

"I told you it wasn't that creepy." said Miky as she walked ahead, "See? Just a normal lake in the middle of the forest. Heck, I bet if we tossed a pebble in there, we'd see nothing but our own reflections!"

Knuckles put up his hands, "If you want to mess with that knock yourself out. I'm not going any closer."

Sonic elbowed him playfully and teased, "What Knux, are you scared or are you just getting bad vibrations?"

"Well if you're so brave, you do it than!"

"Ok, piece of cake."

Tails picked a pebble from the shore, "I'll throw one too. I'm curious as to what will happen. If the lake exists, maybe the spirits do too."

"Don't forget me!" chimed in Miky as she grabbed a pebble as well, "I guarantee we won't see anything." Sonic, Miky, and Tails went towards Jumping Rock while Knuckles hung back and shook his head. Tails flew up onto the rock and knelt on the edge. The rock was cool and a little damp from a thin layer of moss that had grown on its surface.

Clutching his pebble, Tails said, "Spirits, Spirits, Spirits of the lake, show me your faces in the pebble's wake." He opened his hand and let the pebble roll off his palm and into the water. It landed with a PLOP and the ripples began to spread over the surface, distorting Tails' reflection. After a minute or two, the water became still once more. Tails turned around and shrugged, "Nothing. Just my reflection."

Miky jumped up, "My turn!" Tails joined Sonic on the shore as she jumped up on the rock and crawled to the edge on her belly. "Spirits, Spirits, Spirits of the lake, show me your faces in the pebble's wake." She dropped the pebble into the water and intently watched the ripples travel outward from the impact. With the water had calmed, she sat up with a triumphant smile, "HA! It's just silly superstition."

"Still too scared to give it a go Knux?" asked Sonic as he tossed his pebble up and down.

"I'm not scared!" shot back Knuckles, "I'd rather not tempt fate. If there are spirits here, I'm sure they'd like to be left alone."

Miky put her hands on her hips, "I didn't see anything and neither did Tails. It's just silliness!"

Sonic held up his pebble, "Well let's see if third time's the charm." He went up to Jumping Rock and hoisted himself up. He noticed the damp moss made it kind of slick so he crawled on his hands and knees to the edge. Sonic wasn't scared of seeing a ghost in the water but what he was really nervous about was falling in. Ever since he was kid, Sonic had been scared of the water and while he had gotten better control over this fear over the years, he never learned to swim. With one hand curled tightly around the edge of the rock, Sonic stretched his arm over the water and said, "Spirits, Spirits, Spirits of the lake, show me your faces in the pebble's wake." With that, he released the pebble and it disappeared into the depths of the lake leaving only ripples behind. Sonic looked down into the ripples, seeing his own reflection distort with the waters movement.

Suddenly, he saw something move past his fractured image in a blur of white. Squinting and leaning forward ever so slightly, he studied the ripples harder. Behind him Miky and Tails exchanged confused looks while Knuckles looked on in silence. Without warning a pale, wrinkled face with sunken-in eyes and stringy green short hair appeared in the water as clear as day. "AH!" cried Sonic in shock as he jumped. His grip on the rock was suddenly lost and much to his horror, the azure hedgehog found himself tumbling face first into the water.

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><p>There was a huge splash as he went in, the water rushing into his ears and nose. Sonic had clamped his mouth and eyes shut as he flailed his arms and legs about. On the shore, Tails had already jumped in the air to fly to his positon while Knuckles and Miky dashed for the water. Sonic broke the surface with a panicked gasp, arms reaching up for Tails who was flying at him as fast as he could go. The young fox managed to grab his older brother's hands but they were slippery and he lost them as Sonic slipped back under, "SONIC NO!"<p>

Knuckles had reached the spot where he'd gone under and dived for him. Miky was right on his heels and followed suit. They both came back up empty handed after a few seconds and dived again. They once more resurfaced empty handed, and Knuckles growled in frustration, "It's too damn murky and dark down there I can't see him!"

"The Miles Electric!" exclaimed Tails as he whipped out his handheld and turned on the flashlight app that Sonic was joking about earlier, "Now try. And HURRY!" Knuckles and Miky dived again, determined to rescue Sonic.

Sonic was still thrashing about under the water, trying in vain to get back to the surface. He could feel himself sinking further and further, almost like he was being pulled into the depths of the lake. Sonic was trying not to panic as his lungs began to burn from lack of oxygen and fought the involuntary urge to inhale. It was no use though for his heart was pounding in his ears and beating rapidly. A chill began to wrap around him like dozens of hands wrapping around his body and squeezing. Everything was closing in around him.

Knuckles and Miky returned to the surface for the fourth time with nothing to show for it. Tails was about to completely panic, Knuckles was furious, and Miky was frantic.

"The damn light isn't penetrating deep enough into the water!" yelled Knuckles, "How are we supposed to get to him?!"

Tails was trying to hang on to the Miles Electric despite his shaking hands and stuttered, "B-But we c-c-can't give up!"

"Wait!" cried Miky, "I have an idea!" She jumped out of the water with her telekinesis and made a small shield around herself. She went under once more, with her own glowing bubble of air and searched desperately for Sonic. She saw him floating down into a patch of wicked looking underwater ferns. She grabbed him under the arms and tried to surface but his foot was entangled in the prickly plants. Miky quickly resurfaced, "He's stuck in some plants! Help me!" Knuckles dove back down with her and they grabbed Sonic and pulled with all their might.

As Sonic began to lose consciousness, he could feel his lips loosening and preparing to open and inhale a giant gulp of water. He fought harder than he could ever remember in his life to stop sinking, to stay awake, to not inhale but it was useless. As he passed out, He could feel the icy grip pulling his foot and enveloping him as the water forced its way into his mouth and into his lungs.

Knuckles and Miky burst to the surface gasping for air as they hoisted Sonic's face above the water. The blue hero was unconscious but appeared to still be alive. As they swam to shore Tails helped keep Sonic's head out of the water as well as drag him onto the bank. Once he was safely on the back on land, the others looked him over. Miky shook Sonic gently, trying not to let fear into her voice as she said, "Sonic? Sonic, wake up. Come on wake up!" She shook him a little more before putting her ear to Sonic's chest. After a few seconds, her head shot up as she gasped, "He's not breathing! What do we do, he's not breathing!?"

"Move!" Knuckles elbowed Miky aside and began to do compressions on his friend's chest. Tails and Miky looked on in frightened silence as Knuckles growled under his breath, "Come on, come on, come on." After what seemed like an eternity, Sonic's eyes snapped open and he burst into a coughing fit. They rolled him onto his side so as he wouldn't choke on the water he was coughing up as he gasped for air.

Finally, Sonic managed to wheeze, "Please… please tell me no one gave me mouth-to-mouth…"

Tails sighed in relief as he shook his head, "Only you could crack jokes after nearly drowning Sonic."

"A thank you would be nice." Grumbled Knuckles as he rolled his eyes.

"Thanks Knux. Seriously, I thought I was a goner for a minute there." Said Sonic as he coughed a little more and held his chest, "Although, I could do without the bruised ribs."

"It was that or the kiss of life."

"What the heck happened Sonic?" asked Miky as she helped him sit up slightly, "One minute you're staring into the pond and the next you're flying forward into it!"

Sonic shrugged, "I don't know. The rock was slippery so my hand must have slid out from under me." He glanced out at the lake, still shimmering in the pale moonlight and shuddered, "It was so cold down there… Like a bunch of hands grabbing you and pulling you down…"

"I told you not to do it but, nooo," scolded Knuckles, "Nobody listens to me. Instead you wanted to act like children playing Truth-or-Dare!"

"And like kids, we've learned our lesson. You can bet we won't be coming back here anytime soon." Assured Tails. "Now let's get the heck out of here." Everyone nodded in agreement and quickly made their way down the moonlit path and back to the main trail. Not wanting to leave the Master Emerald alone overnight, Knuckles left back home to Angel Island while everyone else just decided to spend the night at Miky's because her house was closest. Once there, Miky made her guests comfortable with blankets, sleeping bags, and pillows in the living room and they all tried to get some sleep after the night's stressful events. Tails quickly curled up and fell asleep in his nest of blankets with his namesakes wrapped around him for extra warmth.

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><p>Sonic was still chilly and slightly damp from his plunge in the lake despite an extensive toweling off upon arriving at Miky's. His quills were a mess and hung down around his shoulders in a spiny, blue cloud. Sitting up in his makeshift bed, Sonic rubbed his bare hands together and blew to warm them but it had little effect. His gloves, socks, and shoes had all been completely soaked so before everyone went to bed, Miky had tossed them in her dryer. Perking his ears, Sonic could hear the soft mumble of the appliance in the other room as well as the occasional small clang of the buckles on his sneakers hitting the sides. Pulling a blanket around his shoulders, Sonic shivered for what felt like the hundredth time. He just couldn't seem to get warm. Being so cold reminded him of Suicide Lake and he cringed. At the time, Sonic had tried to make light of almost dying in the lake's icy waters but inside he was quite shaken up.<p>

It had been awhile since he had fallen in a body of water and Sonic had nearly forgotten the feeling that made him so afraid of water in the first place. That horrible suffocating feeling of wanting to breathe but not being able to. The struggling and flailing as the surface got farther and farther away. Sonic knew that if he just learned to swim he wouldn't have to worry about drowning but he was too afraid of drowning to learn to swim. The blue hero shook his head to clear the whole thing from his thoughts, frustrated with his irrational fears. He stood up and went into the kitchen to fetch a glass of water before settling in and trying to sleep.

Not wanting to turn the light on and disturb Tails or Miky, whose room was nearby, Sonic felt around in the dark kitchen as quietly as possible. He at last found the cabinets and began to feel around for a glass. He found one but much to his dismay, he knocked it out of the cabinet and winced, waiting for it to hit the ground and shatter loudly. The crash never came and upon looking, he saw it suspended in mid-air with a soft yellow glow around it. The glass floated back up as Miky stepped into the kitchen.

"Sonic, why are you knocking things over in the dark?" asked Miky as she set the glass down safely on the counter.

"Not all of us have the most stellar night vision." Replied Sonic bashfully, "I just wanted to grab a glass of water before trying to get some sleep. So why are you catching things I knock over in the dark? I thought you were asleep?"

"I was just checking to make sure you and Tails were comfortable. Plus… to be honest…" Here Miky looked down at her feet and fiddled with her green PJ shirt, "I wanted to see how you were doing. I know you were joking around and stuff back at the lake but I wanted to make sure you were ok."

Sonic was a little taken aback by this as he scratched his ear nervously and shuffled his feet back and forth, "Oh, well, I'm fine. Thanks for asking though."

"Are you sure? I know you don't like water; it must have been a nightmare come true. If there's something you want to get off your chest or talk about-"

"I'm fine Miky. It's not the first time I've had a brush with death or the first time I've almost drowned." Interrupted Sonic. He smiled slightly and added, "Thanks for your concern. You're a good friend. And thanks for letting us stay the night here while my stuff dries."

Miky returned his smile, "It's no trouble." She thought for a moment before asking, "So is it weird not wearing your sneakers? I've never seen you without them."

"It's a little weird for my feet." Replied Sonic with a laugh, "I'm so used to feeling that cushy support of the sole underneath. Plus, the tile is freezing!" Miky burst out laughing before slapping a hand over her mouth. They peeked into the living room to see if they woke Tails but the young fox was undisturbed. Miky and Sonic locked eyes and both fell into a giggling, snickering fit.

The two finally managed to get it together as Miky offered, "If it'd make you more comfortable, you can borrow a pair of my socks."

Sonic shook his head, "Nah, its ok. Thanks again."

"Oh it's really no problem." began Miky as she waved her hand dismissively. She cleared her throat a little as she backed towards the entrance of her room, "Well, it's late, we should get some sleep."

"Yeah, we should. Good night."

"Night." Miky went into her room and shut the door, waving at Sonic as she did. Sonic waved back and when the door was closed, he got his glass of water, and returned to the living room. He laid back down in his pile of blankets and pillows, covering himself in layer after layer. Sonic still felt a little cold but it didn't bother him as he began to slowly drift off to sleep.


	2. The First Ripples

**Chapter 2**

It was pitch black and it was freezing cold. The sound of water lapping up on a shore could be heard. But wait; there was something else in the darkness. Hands, dozens of them were grasping, clawing, and caressing his body. He shuddered violently but the hands were still there, their touch icy and firm, yet at the same time, weightless. "Sonic…" came the whisper. He tried to turn towards the voice but there was nothing but black all around. "Sonic…" whispered a different voice. This one was higher in pitch, possibly a female. "Sonic. Sonic. SonicSonicSonicSonic." Now there was dozens, maybe even a hundred voices. All whispering at once, "SonicSonicSonicSonicSonicSonicSonicSonicSonic…" Male, female, young, old, there was an endless variety overlapping and blending together. He wanted to put his hands to his ears and block out all those voices but he couldn't move. "SonicSonicSonicSonicSooonnnniiiiccccc…." Out of the chorus, one ran out clearly. "SonicSonicSoooooonnnniiiiccccSonicSonicSonicSonicSoooonnnniiiicccc…" It sounded far off in the distance and echoey yet clear as day. His heart was pounding in his chest, panic was starting to take over for some reason as every instinct he had was screaming for him to wake up; wake up before it was too late. "Soooonnnii-"

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><p>"Gah!" gasped Sonic as his eyes snapped open. He struggled for a moment, feeling weight pressing all around him. When he sat up, it occurred to him he had buried himself under a mountain of blankets last night due to being cold. Sonic sighed in relief as his disturbing dream began to fade away. By the time he had retrieved his gloves, socks, and sneakers from Miky's drier, he couldn't even remember what the dream was. After some breakfast, Tails bid Sonic and Miky goodbye and went back to his house to work on some inventions. Sonic stuck around for a little while longer and the two just hung out.<p>

While they were eating lunch, Miky suddenly leaned forward and said seriously, "So, Sonic, if you don't mind me bringing it up, you never told us if you saw something in the lake."

In response the blue hedgehog chuckled as he locked his fingers behind his head and leaned back in his chair, "You know, for someone who doesn't believe in ghosts, you sure are eager to see or hear about one."

"Well, I never got the chance to ask because you fell in. I saw you jump though, right before you fell. And you screamed too."

"To answer your question, no. I didn't see a ghost. I saw my own reflection distorted by the ripples and the moonlight." Replied Sonic simply. He thought for a second about those moments before he plunged into the lake and nodded to himself; sure that's what had happened. "I thought it was at first glance and that's why I was a little startled. When I think about it, it's a little embarrassing…"

Miky noticed Sonic's cheeks redden a bit as he looked up at the ceiling and she suddenly felt a twinge of embarrassment herself, "I'm sorry Sonic. If I hadn't been insisting that we all go throw pebbles into that stupid lake, you wouldn't have fallen in and nearly drowned. I just wanted to prove that legend was nothing but silly superstition."

"I'm ok aren't I? Its fine; no harm, no foul. Although you won't get me back out there to do it again, I guarantee you. But, I will tell you this: I have seen a ghost before."

Miky scoffed, "Yeah right!"

"No, it's true! I've seen ghosts in dark, creepy pyramids and all other kinds of spirits."

"Other kinds huh? Like what?"

Sonic smiled slyly as he asked, "Ever heard of the book '1001 Arabian Nights'?"

Miky shook her head, "Uhh… no. Why?"

"Well, than have I got a story for you! Ok, so I was kicking back on my couch reading that book, '1001 Arabian Nights', right? And I feel asleep." Began Sonic as he pulled his chair closer to Miky's, "I wake up and I'm all like 'Man, what time is it?'. And I pick up this ring that was randomly on my coffee table and all of a sudden, there's this flash and these wisps of smoke come out of it!"

"Whoa! Why? What was it? How did it get there? What happened next?" asked Miky eagerly as she scooted to the edge of her seat.

"What happened next? A frickin' genie came out! That's what happened!" replied Sonic.

At once Miky's curious look gave way to a playful glare as she laughed sarcastically, "Hardy Har Har. A genie? Really? Do you really think I'd believe that?"

"What? I'm not kidding! The genie's name was Shara and we went into the book to save the stories." Insisted Sonic, "I still have the book and if you read it, you'll find that yours truly lends more than just a helping hand in a bunch of the stories."

"Pffft! No way!"

"I'm serious! I'll find the book and let you read it."

"Ok, but first, finish your story so I have a point of comparison. If it's different I'll know it's a prank."

Sonic arched an eyebrow and grinned as he crossed his arms, "Point of comparison? That's a pretty round-about way of saying you totally think this could have happened and you want to hear the rest."

"Just continue already." Said Miky as she grinned too while poking Sonic in the arm, "So what did the genie do when she came out of the ring?"

"Glad you asked. She said…." Sonic continued telling of his wild adventure in the storybook world of the Arabian Nights. At first Miky remain skeptical and interrupted occasionally to question or poke fun at him, but as her friend went on, she interjected less and less. Soon she was just as captivated by the tale as she was with any other of Sonic's heroic adventures. Her eyes would grow wide every time he describe the horrid creatures occupying the different chapters, she would laugh at the Arabian Nights versions of their other friends and she would gasp in concern and sadness every time the flaming arrow came up.

By the time the story was done, it was late afternoon and Miky no longer doubted the truth of the tale and was begging Sonic to go home and find the book so she could read it. He agreed but naturally, couldn't help but constantly point out the fact that she had been so sure the whole thing was bogus. After sharing a few more laughs over this, Sonic bade Miky farewell and went home. He searched for the book for about half an hour before realizing he was starving. Deciding he would find '1001 Arabian Nights' the next day, the blue hero made himself some chili-dogs for dinner and settled in on the couch. To fill the silence, Sonic turned the T.V. on to some random channel. It happened to be the news and the top story for the evening was a 12 car pileup on a free-way in Westopolis. Once he had finished eating, Sonic flipped through the channels, half paying attention to what was on them, before eventually drifting off to sleep.

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><p>"SonicSonicSooooonnniiiiicccccSonicSooooonnnniiiicccc." There it was again. That chorus of whispering voices with the one far off voice that came through clear as day. It was still pitch black and cold as the Arctic. He could feel his legs walking forward, towards that voice calling his name over and over, "SoooonnniiiiccccSonicSonicSonicSoooonnnniiiiiccccc." He couldn't even see the end of his nose but as he walked, he felt like he was weaving through a huge crowd of people. They brushed up against him and moved aside to let him pass as he continued forward. "Soooonnnnniiiiiiccccc" called the voice. It was louder now, he was getting closer. Suddenly, he stopped. Something wasn't right. His instincts told him that he had to turn around and go the other way and not take another step closer to that voice. He didn't know why but he knew better than to question his gut. He took a few steps backward before turning around and walking back the way he came the voices saying all the while, "SonicSonicSonicSonicSoooooooonnnnniiiiccccSonicSonicSooonnnniiicccc."<p>

But now something was different. The crowd didn't want to let him pass; he had to push and shove to get by. All of a sudden he wasn't making any more progress. The invisible mass of people had formed a solid wall in his path and weren't budging. Then, out of the darkness, he felt an icy hand lash out and grab his left arm. He yelped in surprise as its grip tightened like vice and didn't let go. Another hand grabbed his right arm as two more latched onto his ankles. Fear began build in his chest as the voices suddenly sounded more stern, almost scolding, "SonicSooonnniiiiicccSonic." It felt as if there were hundreds of unbreakable, freezing grips grasping him and to his horror, they began to push and pull him towards the voice, "SooooonnniiiccccSonicSoooonnnniiiicccc."

"No, no no!" he cried as he tried to dig in his heels.

It was no use as the voice got louder and began to drown out the other voices, "SooonnniiiicccsonicSooooooonnnniiiicccc."

His breathing quickened as he fought harder and his heart raced, "No! Let me go!" Hardly aware, he started hyperventilating as the glint of moonlight beaming down on Suicide Lake became the only thing visible in the darkness. "NO! NO OH PLEASE NO!" he gasped, his voice a high squeak. As they drew ever closer, his eyes widened in terror as two hands began to reach up from the depths.

"Sooonnnnniiiiiiccccc." Said the voice as the hands reached out for him. The hands and the arms they were attached to were nearly skeletal with soggy strips of blotchy gray flesh hanging from the bones which had a sickening, slimy sheen due to green-ish yellow pond scum from the bottom of the lake.

As the stench of rot and death reached his nose, he began to scream at the top of his lungs, "WAKE UP! WAKE UP DAMMIT YOURE DREAMING, IT'S JUST A DREAM! JUST WAKE UP! FOR THE LOVE OF GAIA WAKE UP!"

He was mere feet away from the edge of the water as the voice called out once again, its arms outstretched and reaching for him, "Sooonnnii-"

* * *

><p>"AHHHHHHH!" screamed Sonic as he bolted up right on the couch. He patted himself down, assuring himself in a hoarse whisper, "I'm ok, I'm ok. It was just a dream. Just a dream…" He sighed in relief as his racing heartbeat began to slow and his breathing went back to normal. The blue hero wasn't usually one to worry about things like nightmares but this was the second night it had happened and both times it was about the lake. Sonic's logic told him that it was because he had almost drowned that day and he was still shook up about it. But, his gut was telling him a whole different story. His gut told him there was more to this than just working through a traumatizing experience. Something wasn't right, the dreams felt too real. Each one felt like a struggle for his life and if he gave in, something terrible would happen.<p>

Sonic sighed as he rubbed his temples, trying to make senses of his conflicted feelings. For a moment considering telling his friends but while they had all seen weird and unexplainable things, they always looked to the logical before jumping to the crazy. After a moment's more of thought, Sonic shrugged and shook his head. He was just being paranoid; there was nothing to worry about. He HAD almost drowned and it WAS a very scary experience so what did he expect? "I'm only Mobain after all." Sonic mumbled to himself as he stood. His mind made up about the ordeal, Sonic went to freshen up and get on with his day.

* * *

><p>After a long, refreshing shower and changing into fresh gloves and socks, Sonic sat at his kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal and contemplating what he should do that day. His communicator buzzed urgently as a call came in. Sonic picked up and asked, "Hello?"<p>

"Hey Sonic, my radar just picked up Eggman flying towards Angel Island." Replied Tails, a hint of surprise in his voice.

"Really? Like a giant robot or something?"

"No, according to the readings, just his little Egg Mobile."

"That's odd… We should check it out. I'll grab Miky and head over. Give Knux a heads up too." Said Sonic as he began to head for the door.

"Will do. See ya soon." Sonic dashed over to Miky's place and explained everything on the way to Tails' house. Once there, it was an extremely short flight up to Angel Island where Knuckles was waiting impatiently.

"Are you sure he's somewhere on the island?" Said Knuckles as he knocked his fists together.

Tails nodded as he pulled out the Miles Electric and opened up the radar,  
>"I'm positive. All of Eggman's stuff gives up a unique electronic frequency that I've learned to track. According to this he's in that small forest over there." Tails pointed to a cluster of trees not far from the altar.<p>

"That's Angel Wood." said Miky as she rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "I remember it from when I stayed with Knuckles. There's nothing in there except lots of little animals."

"So why would he be in there?"

Sonic shrugged as he led the way into the wood, "Well we won't find out by just standing here. Let's go." They entered Angel Wood and began to look around. It was a lovely place with wildflowers growing on either side of the path and the sunlight streaming through the leaves in a dappled pattern. However, all four of them could sense something was not right.

"It's quiet in here… way too quiet." Commented Knuckles as he looked warily around.

Miky agreed, "Yeah, where all the animals? I don't even hear birds!"

The Miles Electric beeped as Tails announced, "We're getting close the signal. Wait… It's coming towards us!"

"Which way is he coming from?" asked Sonic as his ears went up and pivoted about his head, listening for Eggman's approach.

"Dead ahead!" Everyone shifted into a battle stance as the bushes in front of them began to rustle vigorously. After a few tense seconds, the leaves parted and a small gray rabbit fell out.

Knuckles relaxed and glared at Tails, "A rabbit? You got us all worked up over a rabbit!?"

"W-w-what!? No that can't be! I just calibrated the radar last week!" sputtered Tails as he checked the settings and looked around in disbelief.

"Sure it wasn't last YEAR?" quipped Sonic as he rolled his eyes. The rabbit sniffed the air anxiously and bounded towards Miky, jumping into her arms and snuggling against her.

"Awwww! Well Tails, I don't think we're going to find Eggman here. There's only this scared little bunny rabbit. There there." Cooed Miky as she petted the frightened critter.

"I don't understand… He should be right on top of us… What am I picking up?" muttered Tails as he continued to fiddle with the Miles Electric.

Knuckles suddenly grew serious again as if a new thought had just occurred to him, "Wait a minute. That rabbit is the only animal we've seen in here. It's dead quiet and nothing else is around. So… what is it so scared of?" The rabbit's ears suddenly shot up and it leapt out of Miky's arms in a panic just as a small net shot out of nowhere and landed on Miky, entangling her hair.

"DAMMIT! Get back here you fluffy nuisance!" shouted Eggman. At first everyone was confused because the evil scientist was nowhere to be seen but a small BOOP was heard and the visage of the villain in his EggMoblie slowly faded into view.

"AH HA! A cloaking device! That's how we didn't see him! I knew my equipment was on point!" proclaimed Tails triumphantly, "Just why exactly are you prowling around with a cloaking device Eggman?"

"Not to mention chasing poor defenseless animals around!" added Miky accusingly as she yanked the net from her long hair.

"If you're planning something evil on MY island," Knuckles cracked his namesakes so loud it even made his fellow heroes flinch, "You better think again."

Sonic now stepped forward, "So spill it Eggman! I thought you didn't use animals for your robots anymore."

Eggman stood in his EggMoblie, arms folded as the sun glinted off his glasses, "HMPH! Do you really think I'm just going to tell you my plans just because you demanded it!? I don't think so!"

Knuckles growled angrily as he started forward, "Why I oughta-!"

"Hold up Knux." Said Sonic as he put up his arm to stop him, "If Egghead doesn't want to tell us that's fine. It's probably some dumb plot that would never work anyways. We'll just kick his butt and send him packing. Sound good?"

The others nodded in agreement as Eggman began to fume, "WHAT!? It is not 'some dumb plot'! I'll have you know that I've been nabbing animals all afternoon with my ingenious cloaking device! They may make lousy power sources for robots, but they're great for my robots to use as target practice! They'll never miss again! HOHOHO… hohoho… ho…" Eggman's mad laughter trailed away as he noticed the four heroes snickering and giggling. "What are you laughing at!? I'm threatening the lives of innocent creatures! That's not funny, its, its, its evil! I'm EVIL!"

Sonic was still chuckling as he retorted, "Yeah Eggman, you're evil alright. But you're also easy to outsmart!" The heroes fell into another bout of laughter as he added, "Besides, no amount of target practice is EVER going to give those junk heaps of yours have even half-decent aim!"

"Arrgghh… Fine! Be that way! I'm still taking these animals!" Sonic and his friends stopped laughing and shifted into fighting stances. Eggman's mustache drooped slightly as he weakly threatened, "And there's nothing… um, you can do to… stop me? Uh oh…"

The four leapt at Eggman who hit the reverse on his EggMoblie and tried to get away. Sonic dashed ahead of him and with one kick, he sent the hovercraft flying back towards Miky who caught it with her telekinesis and pulled Eggman out, suspending him in the air kicking and protesting while the EggMobile fell to the ground. Tails jumped in and began to tinker with the electronics while Knuckles tore open the hull, releasing all of the animals who scattered and hid in the wood as fast as they could go. When all of the animals were free, Tails had finished and hopped out with a mischievous grin. Miky plopped Eggman back into his hovercraft as Knuckles picked the whole thing up. He tossed it in the air where Sonic homing attacked it into the sky, Eggman's screams of terror and defeat trailing behind it.

As they watched it travel upward, Sonic noticed Tails' sneaky little smile and grinned himself, "I know that look Tails. What did you do?"

"I made some modifications to the thrusters and stabilizers." He replied simply, "It should kick in right about… now." Right on cue, the thrusters on the EggMoblie activated and sent the villain blasting to and fro, screaming comically all the while. He did loop de loops, spins, zig zags and other crazy and sickening maneuvers before finally blasting up into the sky and disappearing into the stratosphere with his yelling fading away the higher he went. The heroes watched the spectacle with joy and when Eggman was out of sight, they collapsed into near hysterics. After they had their laugh, everyone said good bye and parted ways to get back to whatever they were doing that day.


	3. Sudden Changes

**Chapter 3**

When Sonic arrived back home, he decided to find '1001 Arabian Nights' for Miky. It took a lot of searching, but he at last found it tucked away in the corner bookshelf that occupied his attic. He pulled it out and began to flip through it as he returned downstairs. Sonic than noticed a bookmark in the back cover of the book. It was a piece of pink string with a ring tied to one end. This was the ring that he had worn throughout the whole adventure; Shara's ring. Many a time Sonic had put it on and rubbed it in hopes of making Shara appear but nothing ever happened. He was always curious as to what happened to her after he left and how she was doing.

Feeling a little sentimental, Sonic plopped down on his couch and began to read. He re-lived what he often considered to be one of his craziest adventures as he laughed at Sinbad Knuckles, fumed at Erazor Djinn, and felt sorrow for Shara's misfortunes. Sonic read on to the other stories in the book and found himself wishing he had been a part of them and experienced what the characters did. Without realizing it, Sonic passed several hours turning those pages and he didn't even notice as he began to nod off. As night time arrived, the blue hero fell into a deep sleep on his couch, the book resting on his chest.

* * *

><p>At first it seemed that the nightmares were over and a restful night's sleep was in store for Sonic as he snored contently away for quite some time. However, it didn't last. Sonic once again suddenly found himself in that dark, black space. His heart rate instantly kicked up a notch as he turned on his heels to run. He hadn't even taken two steps before the icy cold hands gripped him again and began to pull him in the other direction. He fought as hard as he could, yelling, "Let me go! What do you want from me?! Stop, let me go!"<p>

The chorus of whispers began again, getting louder and louder until it was like hundreds of voice were all shouting, "SonicsonicsonicSonicSONICSonicSonicSONICSONICSONIC!" They dragged him forward and soon, Suicide Lake appeared again, glowing with pale moonlight. His heart sank and skipped a beat as he dug in his heels but it was no use. They pulled him closer and closer to the lake's shore as the surface began to ripple. Once again, those horrible hands came out of the water, the moonlight glinting off of the exposed bone.

The hands reached for him as that voice rang out, "Soooooooonnnnnniiiiiccccc."

"NO! LEAVE ME ALONE!" he screamed back as he tried to get away. It was no use as he was pushed closer and closer the water's edge. The stench of the rotting flesh clinging to the hands and arms was unbearable and heightened his fear. There was a rattling crunch as his feet now reached the pebbly gravel that made up the shore of Suicide Lake. The water was inches away and the icy, invisible hands now forced him to lean towards the water, towards those disgusting hands. "NO! NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!"

"Soooooonnnnnniiiiiicccc." Came the voice again as the hands reached out a little more, the boney finger tips caressing his cheeks and leaving behind little trails of pond scum. He shuddered violently, holding back the urge to vomit as his stomach lurched.

"It's not real, it's not real, it's not real. It's just a dream, just a dream." He whispered to himself as he squeezed his eyes shut and tried to wake himself up. His blood was pounding in his ears, his breath was coming in quick, sharp gasps and his heart was about to beat out of his chest.

"It's very real Sonic… you know that…" His eyes snapped open and immediately drew in breath to scream but it caught in his throat so only a strangling gasp came out. Before him was the thing he had seen in the ripples the night they had tossed pebbles into the lake. It appeared to be female that was perhaps at one time, quite lovely but any beauty she had processed was rotted away. She had random patches of short, stringy green hair scattered about her head that hung down in her pale, blotchy face. Her eyes were black as coal and sunken into her face. Clinging to her thin, bony body were clothes so soaked, and tattered, they might as well not even be there. Showing through the holes was blotchy, gray, water-logged skin and in some places there was bone shining with that disgusting pond scum. She grinned, causing her whole face to shift as the skin cracked, slid around the skull, and bunched up in places, "You know this is real… That's why you fight… You're very strong…" The grin vanished in an instant as her hands grabbed the sides of his face and dug in with a piercing, vice grip, "But I'm stronger…" He was finally able to get the scream of terror to explode out as the figure sank back down into the lake and with one yank, pulled him down into the water. There was a giant splash as he hit the water, darkness descended and then there was nothing.

* * *

><p>Miky stood outside of Sonic's house, knocking on his front door. A fall breeze blew, ruffling her hair and giving her a little chill. Miky shivered as she zipped up her jacket. She knocked again, wondering if maybe Sonic had gone for a run. Miky had decided to drop by to see if Sonic had found '1001 Arabian Nights' to lend her but now she was getting worried as she knocked for the third time. She calmed herself and dialed him on her communicator. 'Stop being so silly. He probably went out, that's all.' The phone rang and rang and rang but there was no answer. As it rang though, Miky's ears perked up as she heard a small sound, almost like a jingling. A bad feeling began to make her flesh crawl as she called Sonic again. This time she put her ear to the door and listened. Sure enough, she could faintly hear the jingle that Sonic's communicator made when it rang.<p>

Knowing that Sonic didn't lock his door, Miky let herself in, calling out, "Sonic? Sonic are you here?" She got no reply as she went through the hallway, and entered the living room, "Sonic? Son- oh my gosh!" Sonic was laying face-down on the floor of his living room, unmoving. Miky was at once kneeling by his side shaking him gently, "Sonic! Sonic, wake up, say something!" She rolled him onto his back, trying to figuring out what to do. Sonic was horribly pale and his skin was cold and clammy. "Come on Sonic, your scaring me! Wake up!" Miky slapped him lightly in the face, not knowing what else to do and frightened for one of her best friends. Her desperate act worked though, as Sonic groaned and began to stir.

He sat up slightly and mumbled, "Ugh… Wha-What happened?"

Miky hugged him tightly, "Oh Chaos, you're ok."

"Ow… My face hurts…" Sonic rubbed his cheek where Miky slapped him, "Seriously, what happened?"

"Oh, hehheh…" Miky blushed slightly as she sheepishly admitted, "Sorry, I kind of flipped out a little when you wouldn't wake up sooo… I kinda slapped you a little."

"I wouldn't wake up?"

"No, I found you on the floor. You were pale and cold, yet you were sweating. Is something wrong?"

Sonic looked at Miky for moment, noticing the concern in her eyes, wondering what to tell her, what he could tell her, before finally saying, "I've… I've been having nightmares, really vivid, nightmares… about the lake…"

Miky eyes widened as she replied, "Oh my gosh…" Guilt washed over her face as her ears dropped, "I'm so sorry Sonic. This is my fault; if I hadn't been so dead set on proving that story wrong you wouldn't have fallen in that lake. I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault." Sonic put an arm around Miky's shoulders, "I told you, this isn't my first time at the rodeo. These things happen."

"But THIS shouldn't have happened! I just HAD to prove that story was dumb and because of that you almost drowned and now you're having nightmares! We could have looked at that lake, turned around, and went home. Than nothing would have happened and you would be ok." Babbled Miky as her eyes started to water and she wiped them furiously with her forearm. "It's my fault, it's all my-"

"Shhh…" interrupted Sonic as he put his finger to Miky's lips. "Its fine Miky. I'M fine. I'm alive, and I'm no worse for wear."

"But your nightmares-"

"That's all they are. Just nightmares. They're not real. You can't blame yourself. You had no idea that I would fall and neither did the rest of us. The nightmares will go away, I'll get over it. Everything is fine."

Miky suddenly threw her arms around Sonic, squeezing him and burying her face in his chest as she began to cry harder, "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry… When I saw you go under, it felt like my heart stopped! And, and when we couldn't find you, I thought you were gonna die! You could have died!" Confused and startled, Sonic gently held her and stroked her hair to comfort her as she continued, "I tried to just shake it off like you did, but it's been the only thing on my mind! I can't get over the fact that we almost lost you… That… I almost lost you…"

Sonic lifted her face and gazed into her frightened turquoise eyes as he smiled warmly, "But you didn't lose me. I'm still here and fit as a fiddle."

"But just now you were passed out on the floor! You were pale and cold; like if you were dead! You're my best friend Sonic, I'd be lost without you!" She buried her face in his chest once more, sobbing out the tears and feelings she had been fighting the past couple of days.

"Miky look at me." Once again Sonic turned her face upward, "Am I still pale?" She shook her head, sniffling. He then hugged her close, "Am I still cold?"

"No… You're very warm…" replied Miky as her cheeks flushed a scarlet red.

Sonic felt his own cheeks redden as he cleared his throat, "See? I'm ok. There's nothing to worry about. So just put those thoughts out of your mind. It wasn't your fault, I'm still here, and everything is going to be fine."

Miky sat back on her heels, rubbing her eyes for the hundredth time, "Ok. I'm sorry I broke down like that. It just…" She smiled at the ground shyly, "You really are my best friend Sonic. I care about you a lot and I just wouldn't know what to do without you."

"I really care about you too Miky. And I'm really glad to have a friend like you." They hugged again for what seemed like eternity before Sonic cleared his throat again and asked, "So, uh, what made you decide to drop by? Did you have a bad feeling or something?"

"Oh, no, I came over to see if you had found the book. I'm pretty eager to read it." Answered Miky as she played with her hair and looked away, her cheeks still glowing red.

"Yeah the book. I was reading it last night…" Sonic glanced around and spotted the book on the floor by the couch, "Ah, there it is. Here ya go." He handed the book to Miky. She took it awkwardly with a quiet thank you as Sonic led her to the door.

As she stood in the doorway Miky began, "Thanks again for letting me borrow this. And I hope your nightmares get-" Without warning, Sonic grabbed Miky and kissed her, catching her completely off guard and causing her to drop '1001 Arabian Nights'. The kiss was full of passion, and an edge of ferocity. Miky yanked herself away, trying to catch her breath as she quickly stooped to pick up the book. Sonic stood where he was, in a stunned, horrified silence, a hand on his mouth.

He reached his other hand towards Miky stammering, "I-I-I'm so sorry! I d-don't know what c-came over me!"

"No, its fine, its ok, I'm just-just gonna leave now. Thanks for the book." Retorted Miky as she shied away from his touch and ran off as fast as she could go. Several minutes after she was out of sight, Sonic stood there, one hand on his mouth and the other hand reaching out into open air, trying to comprehend what had happened.

At last the shock wore off and he went back inside, still trying to grasp what had prompted him to do such a thing. Did he like Miky? Of course. She was a close and valued friend. Did he like her in that way? That was a harder question for him to answer. There were so many things he loved ABOUT Miky, but did he have romantic feelings for her overall? This was something Sonic had been thinking about for quite some time. There were times when they were together he got the butterflies in his stomach and his heart would flutter when their hands touched but did those really mean he was in love? Were those tiny, simple things worth taking a chance and complicating their friendship?

"I guess none of that matters now though…" mumbled Sonic to himself. He flinched at the image of Miky moving away and running off to get away from the situation, from him. That impulsive kiss had definitely thrown a wrench in their friendship, Sonic already knew from the confused and frightened way Miky had looked at him after she pulled away. "But why?" he asked no one in particular, "Why? I would never do something like this! So why did I do it?!" The confused hero got no response but the sound of what he thought was the whispering of the wind outside.

* * *

><p>It had been a long week since the awkward kiss between Sonic and Miky. He hadn't seen her since then and was beginning to worry he had ruined their friendship forever. The only upside was that his nightmares had stopped. He no longer dreamed of being dragged by those invisible cold hands into the lake; in fact, he didn't really dream at all. This was fine with Sonic though, he much rather have a quiet night's sleep than one plagued by frightening things. While he would have felt a little silly confiding in Tails and Knuckles about his dreams, he was able to tell the two about what had happened with Miky.<p>

"You kissed her?!" exclaimed Tails in disbelief, "Like actually kissed her?"

"Yes Tails, how many times do I have to say it? I kissed her." Confirmed Sonic as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Just out of nowhere, I grabbed her and kissed her… I don't even know why! It happened so fast."

The young fox shrugged, "Well why does a person kiss another person? Cause they like them. You like Miky right?"

"Well yes but I don't know if I like her like that… But the weird thing is that I felt like it wasn't ME who kissed her. It was just so impulsive, like I was forcing myself on her. She looked scared, and the whole thing felt wrong…"

Knuckles now spoke up, "Sonic, you do realize that you ARE impulsive right? When something needs thinking through, you're not exactly the first person to kick off the brainstorming session."

"Maybe so… but I still can't shake the feeling that it wasn't really me." replied Sonic, as he stared off into space.

Tails tipped his head in thought, "Knuckles has a point though Sonic; you ARE kind of impulsive. I think both you and Miky are overreacting. You've been on the fence about Miky for ages and its plain to see there's something else between you two. I'm no love expert but I think you two need to sit down and lay all the cards on the table."

"The kid is right, both of you are handling this like two immature teenagers. You have to sit down and talk about it like adults. If you ask me, this is long overdue." Said Knuckles as he folded his arms and scoffed in slight annoyance, "Obviously, judging by what Miky was saying regarding how she feels about the lake incident, she has some pretty strong feelings for you and doesn't even realize it. She's a great person and all but that girl is clueless on so many levels about so many things."

Sonic looked up from the square of floor he had been staring at, "Yeah, but she's not THAT clueless. If Miky felt something for me other than friendship she would know it."

"Say what you want, I'm just calling it like I see it. Whether she realizes it or not, she feels something for you and we all know you feel something for her. You need to stop beating around the bush and talk about it like adults. No other way to put it."

'How am I supposed to talk to her about it if I don't even see her? I swear she's avoiding me…' thought Sonic as his gaze fell back to the floor, 'Sure I'm impulsive, but I have self-control.' He sighed and shook his head, 'This is NOT how I pictured this happening…' The cerulean hedgehog stood as he said aloud, "Thanks for the advice guys. I think I'm just going to head home and think it about it some more. If I'm going to talk to her, I gotta know what to say right? See ya later." Sonic turned to leave but as he reached the doorway of the living room, his ears shot up and his legs stopped in mid-stride.

"sonic…..he…. sonic…." came the low whispering from behind him.

"Did you guys say something?" the hero asked as he turned around. Knuckles and Tails exchanged a look, shaking their heads and shrugging. Confused, Sonic resumed his exit, "Ok than. See ya." Sonic's confusion deepened for he could swear the whispering resume as he closed the door behind him.


	4. Into the Reflections

**Chapter 4**

The Blue Blur didn't get any relief from the jumbled up thoughts in his head as another week dragged by. He was getting jumpy and constantly looking behind him, sure he heard footsteps following him, but there was never anyone there. Then there was the whispering. No matter where he went or who he was with, his ears were always perked and twitching towards the quiet conversations that only he seemed to hear. The most he was ever able to make out was his name; never distinct voices or words. At first he thought it was his friends talking about him behind his back for whatever reason, but then it started happening even when he was alone. It troubled Sonic deeply and the more he tried to ignore or rationalize what he was hearing, the more frequently it happened and the louder the whisperings got. Still, he somehow managed to convince himself that he wasn't cracking up and pushed such concerns aside.

However, there was one thing he was finding difficult to ignore. He would sleep all night long with no nightmares or anything else to disturb him but every single morning Sonic would wake up feeling as if he hadn't slept at all. If that wasn't bad enough, he would look in the mirror and be greeted with a scary sight. His eyes were always bloodshot with ever darkening circles underneath. His skin was getting pale and gray and his quills had lost their healthy sheen, becoming matted and dull. The most disturbing thing about this was that even though Sonic could see it was getting worse every morning no matter what he did; neither Tails nor Knuckles showed concern or pointed it out. It was as if they didn't notice, but how could they not!? The worried hero would ask how he looked and his friends would say he looked fine. This baffled him and made him start to question his sanity but Sonic's troubles were about to become much worse.

* * *

><p>One morning Sonic rolled out of bed after another dreamless night. He hadn't woke up once during the night but the hero still felt exhausted. He stood in front of his mirror and recoiled at his own reflection. His skin was a horrible, sick, gray with darker blotches while dark black circles and huge bags hung under his red-rimmed, bloodshot eyes. His quills were frizzy, tangled, and looked to be thinning in some places. All in all, it looked like he had just clawed his way out of a grave. Sonic rubbed his eyes and looked again but it was the same. Disturbed, he backed away and ran to the bathroom. Much to his horror, Sonic's appearance remained the same even after a long shower and extensive grooming. As he stared, frightened at his reflection, the whispering began once more. It grew loud and echoey in the bathroom despite, Sonic covering his ears to block it out. Scared out of his mind, Sonic dashed out of his house with no destination. He skidded to a stop to catch his breath and noticed with surprise that he was outside of Miky's house. The whispering had silenced for now and Sonic wanted nothing more than to confide in the kind female raccoon but he then remembered there was a still a certain conversation to be had.<p>

Sonic rapped on her front door, calling out, "Miky, are you home? It's me: Sonic. I need to talk to you." There was silence except for the occasional whisper on the wind. "Miky, please, I really need to talk to you." At last, the rattling of the doorknob turning sounded and the front door creaked open to reveal Miky peeking nervously out at him. She stepped aside so he could enter.

They sat down in the living room as Miky asked, "So… what do you need to talk about?"

"I think you know." The raccoon's cheeks flushed as Sonic continued, "I just want start by saying again that I'm sorry. I didn't want to kiss yo- I mean I didn't mean to- ugh…" Sonic sighed, "What I'm trying to say is, I shouldn't have just grabbed you like that."

"Then why did you?" Miky asked quietly as she stared at the floor, "You really caught me off guard and kind of scared me."

"I know and I don't have an explanation. It's no excuse but for those five seconds, I felt like I just lost control… But Miky…" Sonic cleared his throat and swallowed hard. He could hear that blasted whispering again and it was distracting. The cerulean hedgehog flattened his ears against his head in an attempt to block it out as he continued, "I feel something stronger for you than friendship. I like you. And I guess there was something in me that was tired of waiting."

The red-headed raccoon looked up at Sonic slightly, her cheeks positively glowing as she replied, "I owe you an apology too. It wasn't very mature to be avoiding you all this time. I just didn't know what to think, you know? This sort of thing has never happened to me before. But…" Miky raised her head more to make eye contact with her friend, "I've been thinking about it a lot and trying to figure stuff out and… I like you too."

Sonic smiled, "Really?"

"Yeah… I think I always did but I didn't know it… Feelings can be pretty confusing huh?"

"You're telling me!" Sonic shuffled his feet on the living room carpet with a chuckle, "For most of the time I've known you I couldn't tell if I liked you like that. It was so confusing for the longest time but then it just kind of clicked."

A sharp whistling noise squealed from the kitchen causing Miky to stand, "Oh, that's the water for tea I put on the stove. I'll be right back." She hurried off into the kitchen to silence the wailing kettle as she shouted, "Did you want a cup Sonic? Its peppermint."

"Sure." He called back. There a bit of clattering as Miky gathered up things such as cream and sugar. Sonic stood to pace about the living room, looking at a few pictures on the wall. A couple were taken the day Miky had moved in but the majority were of her and their friends on various adventures. He smiled as he walked along the wall, gazing at the memories when he reached a small, oval shaped mirror with a beautiful wooden frame. It had lovely carvings of roses along the border and was perfectly suited for quickly checking one's appearance.

To Sonic's dismay, he still looked like death had touched him. Without warning the whispering burst into his ears. His hands flew upwards as he winced. It was just like the nightmares he had after falling into Suicide Lake; hundreds of voices whispering together, overlapping and blending. Suddenly feeling dizzy, Sonic stumbled slightly and thrust his hand out at the wall to steady himself. Through his glove he could feel his hand pressing against the cool, smooth glass surface of the mirror. He looked at his reflection, a grimace etched into his features. The image in the mirror was a perfect match of course with the exception of his ragged appearance. "GAH!" gasped Sonic as his eyes went wide and the breath in his lungs came in strangled gulps. It was as if someone had suddenly struck him in the chest and knocked all of the air out of him. The whispering died down and ceased as he stood there, staring at his reflection and gulping air like a fish out of water.

"Sonic are you ok!?" asked Miky as she came out of the kitchen carrying a tea tray and saw him leaning against the mirror. Sonic glanced over his shoulder at her before looking back his reflection. It was utterly normal; he looked like his usual self.

"Yes. Yes, I'm fine. I just popped my knee and lost my balance for a few seconds. That's all." Replied the blue hedgehog as he slowly removed his hand from the mirror. There was a giant handprint but other than that, the glass was unmarred. "Sorry about that, I can clean it for you if you like."

"No its fine, I'll do it later." Began Miky as she bent to set the tea tray on the coffee table, "Sooo if we both like each other, what do we- OW!" Sonic grabbed her by the shoulder and yanked her back up right, causing the tray to fall the last few inches and splash cream all over the place. "Hey what's the big idea!? I could have spilled the whole thi-"

"Shhh…" said Sonic as he looked Miky up and down.

"What are you doing? You're really weirding me out." Questioned Miky nervously as his hands slid off her shoulders and down onto the curves of her hips. She tried to pull away but Sonic's grip tightened like a vice. His hands suddenly felt cold too; icy cold.

Sonic began to lean closer to Miky's face while edging her towards the couch as he whispered, "Just be quiet and stop fighting it already."

Miky began to squirm more as the back of her legs touched the arm of her couch, "Ok, you're REALLY making me uncomfortable! Stop, please!" There was a flash of something, something dark, in Sonic's eyes that made her blood freeze in her veins. Her heart was racing and her mind struggled to comprehend what was happening as Sonic shoved her backwards over the arm and onto her couch.

* * *

><p><em>It took him several moments to realize what was happening, to realize what he was seeing. It was dark all around him save for an oval-shaped window of light that was like a peep hole into Miky's living room. He saw Miky fall backwards onto the couch and the look of pure fear on her face. Anger surged up at once as he thought, 'Whoever the hell is messing with Miky is headed for a world of trouble!' He went to jump forward to her rescue but was stopped by an invisible barrier. He banged on it angrily, trying to shatter it, but to no avail. However his anger evaporated into shock and disbelief when he heard Miky cry out.<em>

* * *

><p>"SONIC, STOP! LEAVE ME ALONE!" cried Miky as she tried to get up but Sonic held her down.<p>

"How many times do I have to tell you to be quiet?" growled Sonic, his voice low and menacing. He was right on top of Miky, pinning her to the couch as she squirmed. "I thought you liked me? I thought you'd be lost without me?"

"Sonic please stop, I'm so scared!" whimpered Miky as tears began to roll down her cheeks. "Why are you doing this?"

A bone-chilling smirk spread across his face as Sonic chuckled slightly and glanced over his shoulder, "Because he's watching."

* * *

><p><em>Time stood still as he came to a horrible realization. He was on the couch, poised over Miky as if he was hungry beast and she was no more than a piece of prey.<em> _Sonic could see his reflection in the little oval mirror hanging on Miky's wall. He could only stare at himself, unable to comprehend what he was doing. "No. No. NOI! Miky, please I don't know what's happening! I don't want to do this!" He could see his reflection raise its right hand and he felt his own arm yanked upward like puppet on a string. But it wasn't Sonic's right hand that went up, it was his left. Sonic gasped as he looked more closely at everything around him and all that he could see in the reflection. Sonic wasn't looking at his reflection; he was the reflection and he was looking out of the mirror into the normal world. "What the hell is happening!?" His hand was forced downward towards Miky's chest. His fingers dug into her shirt and yanked. RIIIPPPP!_

* * *

><p>"AHHH!" shrieked Miky, as the light green fabric of her tank top tore like tissue paper with one pull from Sonic. Officially at her limit as she screamed, "STOP IT!" A telekinetic pulse exploded from Miky, throwing Sonic across the room and into the wall with the mirror. The mirror and pictures vibrated from the force. He had barely gotten to his feet when she sat up; clutching her chest and what was left of her shirt, "GET OUT! LEAVE ME ALONE!" Another pulse threw Sonic sideways in front of the door. He opened his mouth to say something but he was cut off by another shriek from Miky as she furiously shook her head and sobbed, "JUST GET OUT! I NEVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN! GET OUT! GET OUT! GET OUT!" The front door flung open so hard it nearly came off its hinges and before he knew what was happening, Sonic was flying through the air and out the door where he landed roughly several feet down the path. Miky's front door than slammed shut with enough force to send cracks spider webbing across the wood.<p>

Unfazed, Sonic stood, brushed himself off and strolled away, a wicked grin spreading across his face, "I'm going to enjoy this."

* * *

><p><em>It was dark again. There were no windows of light so he had no idea where he was or what was going on. It was better in some ways though because he was still trying to wrap his around what had just happened. "Am I… in a mirror? No. I can't be… that's crazy… But… Miky… I DID NOT do that! Something was controlling me. Something was posing as me." Sonic gasped as he remembered what 'he' had said before going on to traumatize Miky, 'Because HES watching.' His knees suddenly felt weak and he sat down heavily on the ground or whatever was underneath him as it dawned him, "Something, something evil is in my body… and it stuck me in here… wherever here is. It attacked Miky and I couldn't do anything about because I'm stuck in my own reflection…" Sonic winced as he felt a pang in his chest at the thought of Miky's terrified screams and the hate with which she had expelled him from her home. "What is that thing anyway? Where did it come from? Why me?" Much to Sonic's dismay, tears began to sting his eyes and slip down his face. He knew that crying wasn't going to fix anything but he was just so overwhelmed, confused, and scared, he couldn't help the few shuddering sobs that escaped.<em>


	5. Enter: Beauty

**Chapter 5**

The thing occupying Sonic's body was strolling through the forest, admiring everything around it as if the surroundings were so new and fascinating. It slowed for a second and cocked Sonic's ears as if it could hear something far away. With an irritated groan and a roll of Sonic's eyes, it said, "I hate it when they turn into sniffling children; so distracting." With, that the thing walked on, trying to think of where it should go next. It sat down underneath the shade of a tree and took a deep breath as it looked up into the sky. Slowly, the awareness left Sonic's emerald green eyes, leaving them empty and void of any emotion or sign of occupancy. His body slumped backwards against the tree trunk like a ragdoll and was still.

* * *

><p><em>Sonic angrily wiped away his tears, knowing if he was going to figure out a plan to reverse whatever that thing did to him, he needed a clear head. He stood and examined his surroundings. It was still pitch black with not even a shred of light. Suddenly, everything around him grew cold and mist materialized out of nowhere. "Hello there… Sonic." Said an all too familiar voice. The blue hero whirled around to see the decaying female that had haunted his dreams standing in the mist with an arrogant grin on its face.<em>

"_What are you? Where am I and what did you do to me!?"questioned Sonic aggressively as he shifted into a battle stance. _

"_My my, so many questions." She replied as she casually walked toward him, "And so rude too. A little 'Welcome back to the world of the living!' would have been nice."_

_Sonic's anger softened slightly as he considered what he had just heard, "'Welcome back to the world of the living'?" he snapped his fingers as a thought occurred to him; "You're the same thing that I dreamed about after a fell in the lake! The thing that was always calling me and trying to yank me in!" _

"_If you recall, you also saw me in the lake. Remember?" _

_At first Sonic was confused but he soon recalled seeing her horrifying face in the ripples of the lake, "Unfortunately I do. So what are you exactly, some kind of ghost or demon? Who are you?"_

"_I prefer powerful and malevolent entity. But if you must call me something, call me…" she paused for a moment, twirling a thin strand of her sparse green hair in her bony fingers, "Beauty. Yes, that'll do just fine."_

"_Beauty? That's awful ironic." Retorted Sonic. He didn't usually like to make such cruel jokes but this thing in front of him had terrified and violated Miky. It was all he could do to not homing attack her right in her decaying face._

_The entity frowned and with an angry toss of her head began to walk away into the darkness, "Well it won't be for long!"_

_Still wanting answers, Sonic ran after her shouting, "Hey! Get back here! You never told me what this is and where I am!" _

"_You want to know where you are? You're on MY turf; the realm of reflections. You're going to hang out in here while I take your body for a little spin. And just for that crack, something particularly nasty is going to befall that red-headed slut!" hissed Beauty as she suddenly appeared in front of Sonic in a burst of mist. _

_As frightened as he was, the insult to Miky gave him courage as he shoved his face back into Beauty's, "You're not going to do another damn thing to her! Give me back my body and go back to wherever hell you came from!"_

_A cunning smile spread across the entity's face as she said with mock sweetness, "You want your body back? Well, I could offer you the usual wager."_

"_The usual wager?"_

"_Every time some fool whose energy and power I desire stumbles across my lake, I take control of their bodies and use them until they have nothing left to give me. Unless, they win a little bet I propose to them."_

_Sonic folded his arms and replied with great skepticism, "And what is this bet?"_

"_I take control of you and I mess up your life as much as I see fit. I turn all of your friends and family against you, make your loved ones hate your guts. Then, I give you back your body. If you can gain forgiveness for whatever unspeakable acts you committed before the full moon rises, I leave you alone and wait for the next sucker. But if you fail…" here she cackled evilly, her grin spreading wider, "Your energy is mine!"_

"_But that's not fair! You attacked Miky before you told me all this!" protested Sonic._

"_Eh. I saw an opportunity and I took it. So do we have a deal or not?" Beauty extended her grisly hand, the water-logged strips of flesh nearly sliding off her fingertips._

"_So if I win, you'll leave me and my friends alone?"_

"_That's right. I'll go back to the lake and wait for some other loser." Even though he was already pretty far up the creek, the hero in Sonic couldn't help but be fixated on the fact that if he won, this monster would simply move on to someone else. While no one would blame him for wanting to just take care of himself, Sonic knew that he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he allowed others to experience what he was going through._

_With this in mind he said, "How about we raise the stakes?" Beauty retracted her hand, a puzzled yet interested look on her face. "If I win, you go back to the lake and never harm another living thing. EVER."_

_She scoffed, "Why would I agree to something like that?!"_

"_Because." Added the cerulean hero as he gestured to himself, "If I lose, you get me. The whole shebang: body and soul." The intrigued look on the entity's face sprang back as if the thought had never occurred to her. "Think about it. Nowadays that old lake is nothing but an urban legend. My friends and I had to be the first to visit in years. And out of those few people who stumble upon the lake have the kind of energy you're looking for?"_

"_Not many." She admitted._

"_Exactly. I don't know about the other people you've body snatched but mine is pretty sweet. I'm the fastest thing alive. Imagine how many victims you could get if you went to THEM. It'd certainly be way more than if you were waiting for them to come to YOU." Sonic now extended his hand, "So how about it? Do we have a bet?"_

"_Answer me this first: Why? Why are you so confident you'll win that you'd risk your body AND your soul for some strangers that you'll most likely never meet?"_

_Sonic exhaled and shrugged, "I'm a hero, I can't let anyone else go through this. Now do we have a deal or not?"_

_Beauty grinned once more, "Very well. If you can gain the forgiveness of your friends before the next full moon, I'll return to the lake and never bother another living soul again. BUT, if you can't, your body and soul are mine forever!" She reached out and grasped Sonic's hand. A stinging sensation that burned like fire raced up Sonic's arm causing him to gasp in pain. He gritted his teeth as it rippled through the rest of his body making his muscles go numb. Suddenly he felt woozy and weak and collapsed to his knees. _

_He looked up at Beauty and had to do a double take, "What the-?!" The entity standing before him had changed. Her clothes were no longer ragged and sopping wet which revealed that she was actually wearing a charming, flowing baby blue dress that touched the floor with violet sashes around the arms and torso. The skin on her arms and hands was beginning to heal and knit itself back together. It was still a hideous gray, but was smoother and the bone was visible in less places. "How'd you-!?" _

_Beauty chuckled as she spun, "Ah, this was always my favorite dress!" She knelt and pinched Sonic's cheek, yanking as she said tauntingly, "Thanks for that little pick me up as well as a nice chunk of memories. I can't wait to visit… oh what's his face. Tails! Yes, him. We're going to have all kinds of fun!" Beauty pushed him away and began to vanish into a cloud of mist, her chilling cackle echoing around Sonic as he struggled not to pass out._

'_I have nothing to worry about,' he thought to himself as everything began to fade in and out, 'My friends will know something is up… They know I would never… never… hurt…'_

* * *

><p>Life flooded back into Sonic's body as it sat up right, with a gasp. Some leaves had fallen from the tree he was sitting under, covering his lap slightly. Brushing them off, the entity got up and after getting her bearings, steering Sonic's feet towards Tails' house. Beauty grinned and a matching sneer came to Sonic's face; she was in control, she was ready to wreak some havoc, and she eager to win the bet.<p> 


	6. Shattered Bonds

**Chapter 6**

Tails looked up from he was working on as a knock sounded at his door. He put aside his tools and answered it to find Sonic standing there. "Oh hey there Sonic! Wanna see what I'm making?"

"Sure." replied Sonic as he stepped inside. He looked around the living room casually as they crossed through to Tails' lab. Once there, Tails held up what appeared to be a camera with two LCD screens on either side and various meters on the top next to the handle. "What the heck is this?" asked Sonic.

"Well, after being at that lake and not seeing any spirits I thought, 'Hey, maybe there were spirits there, we just couldn't see them.' So after doing a lot of research on paranormal science, I came up with this!"

Sonic scoffed and rolled his eyes as he turned away to look at another gadget on the table, "How's that brick going to find anything?"

A look of confusion flashed across Tails' voice at his dismissive tone, but not wanting to think his best friend could ever truly not like one of his ideas, he continued, "Well, I know it's a little bulky, it's just a prototype. Basically, it films in night-vision, thermal, and with a lot of work it films electromag-" CRASH! Tails whirled around to see Sonic standing near another worktable with the smashed remains of a device at his feet.

"Sorry I dropped it." He replied dryly as he stepped over the mess and walked away.

"It's ok… Accidents happen…" muttered Tails as he stared at the sparking scrap on the floor, biting his lip and clearly trying to not to get angry. "As I was saying, it also films electromagnetic fields which all living things give off a teeny tiny bit but ghosts radiate them. I believe it's because-" SMASH!

"Oops. My bad." Said Sonic nonchalantly as he stepped on the ruined gadget as he crossed back to the table Tails was at, "What are you going on about now?"

The young fox glared at Sonic, a look of disbelief on his face as he gestured to the mangled tech on the ground, "Really?! I can understand dropping it but did you really have to step on it!? I could have salvaged that! What is wrong with you today?"

The blue hedgehog shrugged as he reached for the ghost hunting camera, "Eh. Here I'll make it up to you by helping you out with this thing."

"No! Don't touch it!" shouted Tails as he stood in front of it, "You've broken enough of my stuff today."

"Come on, I just want to help!"

"NO!"

* * *

><p><em>Sonic came to with a gasp. He was lying in the darkness but when he jumped to his feet, he could see several pockets of light scattered around him. He rushed to nearest one, a curved circle shape hole and peered through, As soon as he stepped into the light, his body automatically shifted to match the scene he was observing. In the real world, his physical self was standing on tip-toe to reach over Tails' head and grab a big camera looking device. In the reflected version, Sonic couldn't stop one hand shoving Tails away and the other grabbing the camera. <em>

"_This is what she meant by reflected world!" realized Sonic out loud, "All of these windows are reflective surfaces in Tails' lab. That why every time I step in them, I have to copy what my body is doing!" the trapped hero could see the anger building in his little bro's face as he tried to snatch the camera back but the heinous entity in Sonic's body exploited the fox's short stature and held it above his head. "Come on Tails, you know I would never do that to you…"_

* * *

><p>"Give it back Sonic! Why are you doing this?!" shouted Tails as he tried to reach up for the ghost camera.<p>

"You tell me shortie. You're the nerd." Replied 'Sonic' as he moved away and examined the camera, "Listen if you're trying to make a paper weight, you don't need all these other bits." Tails gasped as the blue hedgehog he had looked up to for years ripped the side screens from the video camera's base and chucked them over his shoulder like garbage. He then dropped it roughly on the table and the various, sensitive, delicate pieces inside could be heard breaking and rattling around the casing. "See? Perfect paperweight."

"It wasn't a paperweight! It was highly sophisticated piece of video equipment and you RUINED it!" screamed Tails as he finally lost his temper. "Why are you being such a, such a, such a BULLY!? I thought you were my best friend!"

"Maybe I'm tired of being friends with a nerdy little, two tailed, FREAK!" retorted Beauty, the vicious insult coming out in Sonic's voice. She grinned as Tails immediately wrapped his namesakes around each other, thus making them appear as one.

* * *

><p>"<em>Stop!" yelled Sonic as he struggled to move independently. It had been years since he had seen Tails self-consciously try to hide his namesakes. It hurt his heart to remember how much it took to convince his little bro that his extra tail was nothing to be ashamed of and it was actually useful and cool.<em>

* * *

><p>Tails tried to hide the shake in his voice as he said quietly, "You always said my tails were awesome, that it made me unique and I shouldn't be ashamed of them…"<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>And I meant it! I've always meant it!" Sonic fought harder as his physical body was looming over Tails, staring him down. With a great deal of effort, he managed to uncurl his fists and flex his hands. Sonic was panting heavily as he mustered his strength and tried to at least turn his torso.<em>

* * *

><p>"Ever heard of something called 'Lying'? You were just so pathetic what else was I going to say? On occasion this little arrangement has turned out to be useful but do you want to know something?" Tails' eyes widened in fear as if he knew what was coming next.<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>NO! Tails you know this isn't me!" the blue hero was using every ounce of strength to move, hoping that maybe, if he could just move, he could stop what was happening.<em>

* * *

><p>The malice was clear as day on Sonic's face as the evil entity in control began to say, "I only became your friend out of pity!" Tears sprung to the shocked fox's face as if all of his worst nightmare were coming true in front of him. "That's right; you were hoping you'd never hear me say it, weren't you?"<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>That's enough Beauty!"<em>

* * *

><p>"You've always known deep down inside that I've never really liked you. That's why you try so hard sometimes to be like me; so that maybe I'll hate you a little less."<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>Stop it, just stop!" Sonic's own face was now covered in tears, partially from the amount of effort he was putting forth but mostly from seeing the hurt in his little bro's face. He had always known about this insecurity Tails had and it was unbearable to see Beauty twist it around to her advantage.<em>

* * *

><p>At last Tails managed to speak, his voice choked with emotion, "You're supposed to be my big brother… you're supposed to be my best friend… All those things you used to tell me… Everything I've ever done since I met you… I thought… I thought…"<p>

"You thought wrong." Replied Beauty simply, unable to hold back a huge, devilish grin as she enjoyed every moment of the young fox's pain and her smirk only widened as she could feel Sonic's turmoil as well. "You're smart and all but if you think that we were ever REAL friends; you must be pretty stupid."

* * *

><p>"<em>STOP!" shouted Sonic at the top of his lungs as he yanked himself sideways. There was sensation that ripped through the backwards world like a pane of glass shattering as he fell to the ground. His movements were no longer tied to those of his physical body.<em>

* * *

><p>"STOP!" yelled Tails at the same time; completely unaware of what was transpiring just on the other side of the reflective surfaces in his lab. "If that's how it is, FINE! We're not friends anymore! And you're definitely NOT my big brother! I don't need you! So get out of my house and never come back!" The anger was clear in his eyes and voice but Tails' face showed the sadness, hurt and pure devastation he was feeling.<p>

* * *

><p><em>Freed from having to mimic his physical body, Sonic noticed dozens of windows of light scattered around him and he peered through each one discovering they all had a different angle and perspective of Tails' lab. He dashed to one and peered through more closely. From what he could tell, it was the reflection from a computer screen. "TAILS! TAILS LOOK OVER HERE! LOOK, IT'S ME! THE REAL ME!" cried Sonic as he banged on the window. His blows didn't even make a sound and his yells were trapped inside with him. Much to his frustration, he was still just an observer as Tails shouted for him to go away and never speak to him again. With an annoyingly nonchalant shrug, Beauty began to steer his body towards the door. To Sonic's shock, the window he was peering through shrunk and disappeared. As his body crossed back through the house and went out of range of some reflective surfaces and came within view of others, the windows changed size and position. At last, the front door of Tails' home slammed shut as Beauty erupted into a bout of maniacal, almost hysterical laughter that he could hear in his own voice on the outside and in Beauty's witch-like cackles in the darkness of the reflective world.<em>

* * *

><p>In the outside world, Beauty wandered through the forest, trying to find her way back to Sonic's house. Nothing was looking familiar as the sun began to set; as she circled what she was positive was the same tree with a bush at its base for the fifth time. As she walked she thought about the bet she had made with Sonic. At first she thought he was going to cheat somehow considering he was confident enough not just to risk his life but his body and soul as well, however, he was just as helpless as all of her other victims. She breathed deeply, using his lungs, enjoying actually breathing fresh air. The longer she occupied and used Sonic's body, the stronger her spirit became, and the weaker his got. Usually this effect would be temporary but Beauty had a feeling that this would last a lot longer.<p>

At this Beauty couldn't help but grin as she remembered that cold chill that ran down her spine earlier in Tails' house. Whatever her gracious host had been up to, he had shattered the bond between his spirit and his physical body. It had taken every ounce of control she had not to shudder or grimace at the shock of it. However this pleased her because it meant that this righteous hero was far stronger than she originally thought. 'Once I win this wager and his energy, I'll be free to do whatever I please. Nothing in the spirit or the physical world will be able to stop me and I'll keep my beauty forever.' Her grin spread wider as she finally found the path leading back to Sonic's house. 'Now I only have to get some more memories and energy out of that fool and his life will be ruined before the sun sets tomorrow…'

* * *

><p><em>Sonic was sitting on the ground, his knees pulled up to his chest and his head bowed. Where ever his body was, there were no reflective surfaces so he found himself in the dark. He couldn't stop thinking about how Tails had reacted. "Tails knows me; we're brothers. How could he not realize that I wasn't myself? How could he believe for even a second that I would smash his inventions or call him a freak?" Sonic sighed as he looked up into the darkness that surrounded him. He wasn't feeling too hot; he felt tired, almost weak. "Breaking free must've taken more outta me than I thought…" <em>

"_I'll bet. I have to say that was most impressive, even if it was a really dumb move." Said a mocking voice. Beauty faded into view accompanied by the cloud of mist. Her appearance had improved greatly; her arms and hand were completely healed and covered with a soft cherry red fur. Sweeping behind her was a thin fluffy tail and her light green hair had almost completely returned. However, it was still stringy and thin in places. Beauty's face had only healed slightly around the edges but mostly remained horribly decayed. "If anything, it only proves how much power you really have."_

"_YOU!" exclaimed Sonic as he jumped up. He noticed Beauty's slight makeover and pointed accusingly, "How the heck are you doing that!?"_

_She merely laughed and replied, "The more I use your body, the more beautiful I become. Don't worry though, I'll leave you enough energy to try and grovel to your friends after I'm through with them. That is, if you can get back into your body."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_While we were in your FORMER best friend's house," Beauty smiled as Sonic flinched at the word, "I felt you break your connection with your body. It was quite a shock; I've never seen someone do that before."_

_Sonic threw up his hands in frustration, "Would it kill you to just tell me instead of beating around the bush?!"_

"_Basically, I when forced you out and into your reflection, it was your spirits connection your body, like a tether. With it, if I let you, you could slip right in. Without it, you have to force your way in and believe me, that takes a lot of energy. Hopefully you'll have the strength."_

"_What!? How was I supposed to know that!? How do I reconnect!?" exclaimed the shocked blue hero._

_Beauty shrugged and said with a wave of her hand, "I don't know and even if I did I wouldn't tell you. It serves you right for trying to interfere and cheat by alerting your little freak show frie-" _

_The evil entity was suddenly interrupted as Sonic jabbed a finger in her face, "Tails is NOT a freak! Call him that one more time and I'll- AHH!" Sonic yelled in pain a Beauty's hand shot up and grabbed his wrist, her dagger like nails digging into his flesh. The stinging sensation returned as he felt weak once more._

_As he sank to his knees, Beauty hissed in his ear menacingly, "Do that 'one more time' and I'll drain you dry right here, right now and leave your restless, husk of a soul to wander alone in darkness forever; bet or no bet!" She released him and stood, her hair, now much fuller with a slight sheen bounced up and revealed that more of her face had healed. She had a pronounced, thin muzzle and narrow, piercing eyes indicating her species to be a weasel. "Tomorrow I'm going get that foolish looking echidna from your memories to hate your guts and then it's your move." She then turned and began to storm away in a huff, the misty clouds forming around her feet and knees. _

"_What happened to you?" Beauty stopped dead in her tracks, her still slightly tattered ears shooting up. "What horrible thing happened to you when you were alive that made you so evil, manipulative and cruel in death?" _

_She didn't even turn around as she hollowly replied, "Do you really want to know? Nothing. Nothing happened to me. I was beautiful and I used it to get what I wanted. But there were those who were jealous and couldn't handle it…" There was a moment of silence as she brushed a semi-healthy lock of green hair behind her ear away from her face and slowly turned. Sonic gasped in horror as he beheld a gaping hole in the right side of her face. The edges were jagged and pointing inward as if that area had imploded. Her right eye was gone and blood dripped out of the crater in a steady stream with little fragments of bone and chunks of flesh here and there. "Those bastards took away my beauty! They took away my face! They ruined my life! Even in death, I can't have my face back! But the joke is on them because I'm going to be beautiful again! They'll pay, all of them will pay!"_

"_So you're making me and my friends pay because somebody got back at you for using them!?" exclaimed Sonic. "I almost felt sorry for you! I thought you were a good person at one point and maybe I could appeal to that! You're just doing this for the fun of it!"_

"_So what if I am? But does that mean I deserved a face full of buck-shot!? Does that mean I deserved to die before my time!? People like you and your friends always act like so righteous, like you could do nothing wrong, like you're so perfect! Well, everyone had flaws. I just expose and exploit them. Have fun picking up the pieces when I'm done, 'Mr. Hero'!" spat Beauty as she vanished in a flash of mist. _

_Sonic couldn't believe what he'd just heard as he paced back and forth angrily. Why did this happen to him? How did he wind up in this mess? All his life he had tried to do nothing but good and this is how fate had repaid him. "WHY DOES THIS CRAP HAVE TO HAPPEN TO ME?!" he screamed into the emptiness. It seemed that no matter how times he played the hero, took the high road, or placed others before himself, he always got the short end of the stick. Sonic rarely had a selfish thought but now his mind was full of them. Why did he bother? Why did it have to be his job to stop the world from falling apart? Why is it even though he did his best to be a good person, evil flocked to him? Why did evil seem so intent on taking away the people he loved and punishing him? Weren't bad people supposed to be punished and good people rewarded? Sonic gave a furious shake of his head as he sat down, trying to calm himself and conserve his strength. He was going to need every ounce of it if he was going to get out of this._


	7. Suspision

**Chapter 7**

The next morning Knuckles was relaxing on Angel Island as he polished the surface of the Master Emerald. He smiled at his own, green-tinted reflection with a content nod. He put away his polishing rag and sat down on the top of the alter steps. It was a lovely day; there was a slight breeze and there was a singing flock of Flickies flying overhead. Knuckles spotted someone, coming across the bridge that connected the island to Red Mountain and grabbed his binoculars. Through them he could see Miky walking slowly, her arms wrapped tightly around her. Knuckles waved and she feebly raised a hand to wave back. 'Something is wrong…' thought the guardian, 'Something is very wrong…'

When Miky finally arrived, it only confirmed his fears. Her eyes were red and watery as if she'd been crying and had a haunted look about them. They sat down next to Master Emerald as Knuckles asked warily, "Miky, what's wrong? Did something happen?"

Miky replied in a strained, slightly hoarse voice, "Well… kind of… I thought I would come to you because… actually I don't know why… Tails is closer but I don't know… For some reason I just thought I should go to you…"

"Just spit it out, what happened?" said Knuckles, his worry growing by the minute. Never before had he seen Miky so shaken up.

"Ok… So after the whole lake thing, I went to Sonic's house to borrow this book and he-"

"He kissed you right?" interrupted Knuckles. "He told us all about it and we told him to go talk to you and work things out. Did he?"

Miky bit her lip and cast her eyes toward the ground, "Not… Not exactly… He did mention it and he apologized and he said he liked me. I said I like him too… then… then…" fresh tears sprung up in her eyes as she hugged herself tighter.

Knuckles scooted closer to her, his mind racing about what could possibly be wrong, "What is it? What happened?"

"I left the room to get some tea… When I came back, he was leaned against this mirror on my wall… He looked out of breath and kinda wide-eyed… But he said he was fine. So I go to put down the tea stuff and… and…" Miky stopped again, taking a deep breath and wiping her face on either shoulder, "He grabbed me and pulled me really close… His hands were so cold…" Knuckles waited for her to continue, struggling to keep his face neutral and not jump to any crazy conclusions. "He pushed me onto the couch… I kept telling him to stop but he didn't… he would just grin and whisper for me to stop fighting it… I was scared out my mind… there was something wrong about him… something off… I don't know… He ripped my shirt in half and that's when I just lost it… I threw him out with my telekinesis and I haven't seen him since…"

"Whoa…" said Knuckles quietly. "That's insane; why would Sonic-"

"Oh my Chaos he's coming!" Miky sudden squeaked as she pointed to the bridge. Sure enough, when Knuckles looked, he could see a blue figure reaching the plateau where the bridge was connecting and heading in their direction. The dread-sporting echidna's first reaction was anger; he couldn't wait for Sonic to reach this side so he could beat an explanation for his actions out of him.

However, he kept his cool as he said to Miky, "Hide somewhere; I'll handle this." With a small nod she dashed in the opposite direction and ran down the back stairs of the altar. When Sonic had crossed the bridge, Knuckles went down the front steps and met him at the foot of the altar.

* * *

><p>"Hey there Knuckles." Greeted Sonic with a little smile, "How's it going?"<p>

"It's going. What brings you here?" replied Knuckles as he kept his hands curled into loose fists at his sides. It was taking a lot of will not to throw a punch but he was becoming aware of something. He didn't know what though.

"Eh, just passing by and I figured you could use the company. Guarding that big rock must be all the time, huh Knux?"

The red guardian couldn't help but roll his eyes, "Its Knuckles. You know that. So how how'd your talk go with Miky?"

"I told her red-heads aren't my type. You know what they say about red-heads; they're all sluts. No offense, Knux." Shock crept ever so slightly onto Knuckles face before he forced his features to neutral again. Despite this, Beauty noticed and continued, "So Knux, if you're the guardian of that giant paperweight, why does it get stolen or broken all the time?"

"It does not! It's not a paperweight and stop calling me 'Knux'! Why are you being more obnoxious than usual? Hmm? And why did you do what you did to Miky!? She's terrified of you now!"

Beauty shrugged and Sonic's body followed suit, "Because that would be the only good thing that would come out of being with her."

"So you lied to her about having feelings? Than why did you bother ask me and Tails about it?" Knuckles' intuition was once again telling him that something was off and the feeling was getting stronger the more he talked to Sonic. He still didn't know what exactly and that combined with the hedgehog's behavior was making him extremely angry.

* * *

><p><em>Sonic was standing in the dark, ears perked. He could hear arguing, it was faint but he could hear it. Wherever Beauty was there were no surfaces to cast a reflection on so he was basically blind. But he wasn't deaf. If he really focused, he could hear his own voice and Knuckles going at it. From the sound of things, Knuckles was starting to get pretty angry. While he often teased the echidna about various things and loved calling him 'Knux' just to see him get his dreads in a twist, their friendship was solid. As before, Sonic was hoping that Knuckles would see through Beauty's insults and tricks but after seeing her destroy the relationship he had with Tails in one conversation, he wasn't about to hold his breath.<em>

'_I might as well start thinking how I'm going to convince them to forgive me… If that's even possible…' thought Sonic as he struggled to make out the words of the argument. He could occasion hear Miky's name and this made him confused, "How did Knuckles know about Miky? Did Beauty mention it or did Miky tell him about it?" He was still thinking about it when he heard his own voice say something in a snarky tone but the only word he caught was Chaos. "Oh no, that's not good…"_

* * *

><p>"How dare you! Where do you get the nerve to come HERE and insult Chaos!?" growled Knuckles, his hands clenching up in fist so tight, it almost hurt. Any thoughts about what his intuition could be warning him about evaporated as he shot back, "You've battled Chaos before! You know his power and yet you dare to say something like that?!"<p>

"Yeah, I do dare. If he's so big and powerful, how come he lives in a rock that has be constantly guarded. Since you suck at it anyways, he should just take care of himself." Retorted Beauty. She could see Knuckles was fuming and that was good. She could feel before that he was wary; almost as if he was trying to see past the façade she was putting up.

"Listen Sonic if you want to start something, you better be sure you can finish it!" threatened Knuckles as he cracked his namesakes.

The 'hero' scoffed and laughed, "Oh I am supposed to be scared or something? Please! How many times have I kicked your ass? How about a dozen? I can take you anytime, anywhere! You know why? Cause you're weak! That's why you suck as a guardian! You're weak!" Unable back his anger any longer, Knuckles swung his fist and hit Sonic square in the jaw. He stumbled and fell backwards onto the ground.

The enraged echidna grabbed him by the throat and looked him dead in the eyes. Suddenly his intuition was screaming at him again. There was something there, something that wasn't Sonic. He noticed that Sonic's skin was cold as ice and his mind involuntarily went back to the waters of Suicide Lake. The darkness staring back at him was not Sonic, it was something else entirely. Knuckles shoved 'Sonic' towards the bridge and said menacingly, "Get off my island. Don't even thinking about coming near me or Miky ever again." With a glare over his shoulder, 'Sonic' turned and crossed back over the bridge, rubbing his jaw.

Knuckles watched him go, feeling sick to his stomach as Miky peeked out from behind the altar and asked, "Is he gone?"

"Yes, but that's the problem." Replied Knuckles thoughtfully. "Sonic is gone."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that Sonic is GONE. Something else is there and it's dark and evil…"

Miky's eyes went wide as she asked, "But, but how is that possible? How can he be gone and if so, how and what's inside him now? Why is it making him act like this?"

"I don't know. We need to go to Tails and see if he's had an encounter with 'Sonic'." Said Knuckles as he made quotes with his hands. "Because it looks like whatever is controlling him is hell bent on trashing his friendships. Let's go." With a nod, Knuckles and Miky ran off towards Tails' house.

* * *

><p><em>Sonic was pacing back and forth in the dark, waiting for Beauty to appear. He knew he should be sitting down and saving his strength but he was nervous and figgetity. Somehow, Beauty had succeeded in making his three closest friends hate him. In a way it shook his whole being to the core that they would think he would ever do any of the things he did or say any of the hurtful things he said. "How they even think for a second that was me?" mumbled Sonic to himself. His legs suddenly became wobbly and as he tried to take another step he fell to his knees. "How could they believe I would do that?" he asked again as he knelt on the floor and fought back tears. "I just don't understand…"<em>

"_Maybe they weren't as good as friends as you thought they were." Suggested Beauty as she appeared in her usual cloud. Her hair was as healthy and full as any living being now and sported a light green, almost like grass. It was very curly and rested on her shoulders. Besides the gaping hole on the right side, her face was almost completely healed. She had very fair skin and was wearing bright red lipstick. Her good eye was a piercing, ice blue that seemed to run you through. _

"_No, they'll realize it soon when they stop and think about it. And when I explain everything they'll understand. You'll see." Replied Sonic as he forced himself to his feet, "Now give me back my body. Where is it anyway?"_

_Beauty rolled her eyes, "You could at least say please but fine." The Mist appeared once more and she was gone. Sonic looked around to see a large window piercing the darkness. He approached it and looked through his bedroom mirror to see himself lying in his bed, staring up at the ceiling. His eyes were half-open but they were dull and blank. At first it looked like he wasn't breathing but upon closer inspection Sonic could see his own chest very slowly move up and down. _

"_Whoa, this really surreal and creepy…" As Sonic looked on, light suddenly filled his eyes and his body sat up right with a gasp. Beauty than walked his body over to the bedroom mirror._

When she spoke it was in his voice and it come through the mirror in with an echoey sound, "Ok, if you want your body back, put your hand to the barrier when I do." On the other side of the mirror, Beauty could see Sonic nod and raise his hand. She grinned as if she knew a dirty little secret and raised her hand as well, "Ready?"

"_Ready." Replied Sonic. His physical body reached out its hand and Sonic followed suit. He figured it would feel the same as when Beauty sucked him out of his body and put him in this awful place but he was still in no way prepared for the sensation that struck him as he put his hand to the barrier. It was like a blot of electricity zapped through his body as his hand met the barrier at the same time Beauty put his physical hand there. He yelped in pain and resisted the urged to yank his hand away, grimacing as he felt his whole body go cold and numb. 'I just want my body back; I just want to be back inside my body.' Sonic thought to himself, his breathing becoming fast and shallow. He could already feel himself becoming light-headed and weak. He looked up to see his own face grinning evilly at him through the mirror. 'She's pushing against me. She not letting me in.' Biting his lip against the pain he managed to muster a grin a back, 'Fine, if she wants to play games, let's play.' Focusing his every thought on being back in control of his own body, Sonic pushed as hard as he could on the barrier. Much to his surprise, his hand disappeared up to his wrist. _

_He pushed harder and soon his arm was gone up to his elbow. 'I'm doing it! My arm is actually starting to feel warm!' he thought as he gathered his strength for another push. Taking a deep breath he thrust himself forward with all his might but he smashed his face into the barrier, "AHH! Dammit!" His free hand flew to his nose, which ached terribly and felt broken as his own laughter echoed at him. With a frustrated growl he shouted, "You said you would give me back my body so I could try and gain my friends' forgiveness! Why can't you just let me have it?"_

"Because, I never said it would be easy. Besides, this is way more fun!" Beauty chuckled as she pushed back slightly, sending Sonic back so that only his hand and wrist were gone.

"_ARRGH!" he cried in pain as he was forced back through. Sonic's knees were begin to quake and his feet were sliding backwards as his breathing turned into hyperventilating. Things were beginning to fade in and out as Beauty continued to laugh at his suffering. 'I'm running out of steam… I don't think I can do this… I'm… going to… LOSE…' As the possibility crept into his mind that this was one fight he wasn't going to walk away from, Sonic couldn't help but remember Miky's terror as Beauty had ripped open her shirt or Tails' anger as she had exploited his deepest insecurities about their friendship. He thought about the scorn with which Knuckles had cast him out. It still confused and hurt him that they had fallen for it and not stopped and considered that he would never do any of the things Beauty did but Sonic was still determined to regain control of his body and make things right. _

_Sonic summoned up every single ounce of energy he could and pulled back slightly before pushing forward with everything he had. Realizing too late that Beauty was probably expecting this, he felt her resistance fall away and he surged through the barrier, tumbling through what felt like a wind tunnel that blasted him in_to his body like a cannon ball into its target. Once again Sonic felt that punch in gut and the force of his reentry sent him stumbling backward. His feet tangled up amongst themselves and he hit the ground with a THUD! He wanted to get up but he could only lie there, staring at the ceiling of his bedroom and watching the blackness creep in from the corners as he passed out, a faint but cruel cackling ringing in his ears.


	8. Struggling

**Chapter 8**

Knuckles and Miky had reached Tails' house and were knocking urgently on the door. After several minutes, Tails finally opened the door and asked rather rudely, "What do you guys want? I'm very busy you know."

Miky immediately countered with her own question, "Have you run into Sonic recently? He's been acting really… different lately."

"You're telling me! That jerk smashed a bunch of stuff, and said a bunch of crap. If he wants to be like that fine! It doesn't matter to me."

"Tails, do you really think Sonic would ever do anything to hurt you?" prompted Knuckles. He could tell the young fox was extremely angry and not being rational at all. "Whatever he said to you or did, you have to put it aside and help us. We think that something is controlling Sonic or has taken over him. And we need you to-"

"You need ME to use my smarts to help you solve YOUR problem as usual. Is that all I'm good for? An encyclopedia? Well you know what, figure it out yourselves!" shot back Tails as he furiously wiped at his eyes to hide the tears that were starting to form.

Reaching out a comforting hand Miky said calmly, "Tails, you're not just good for an encyclopedia. You're our friend and so is Sonic. We have to work together to help him."

"NO! Sonic is no friend of mine! Here, take this, go away, and leave me alone!" yelled Tails as he shoved Miky's hand away and tossed the Miles Electric at Knuckles who barely caught it after some fumbling. The troubled fox than slammed the door in their faces.

"Whatever Sonic did must have really gotten inside of Tails' head. I've never seen him so upset." Said Miky sadly as they turned and began to leave.

"Tails has insecurities like anyone else and if I had to guess, whatever's controlling Sonic knew about them and exploited them." Commented Knuckles as he fiddled with the Miles Electric, "Grrr… how do you work this thing?"

Miky took it and tapped on the screen a few times, "Lemme see…" After a few more taps and button pressing, the screen lit up and several icons appeared, "Got it! Now um… what are we supposed to do with it anyways?"

"Well we can use it to look up information. Let's go back to Angel Island where we can sit down and figure this out." Once they were back on the island they began to explore what could possibly be wrong with their friend.

Miky tapped her chin thoughtfully before snapping her fingers, "Maybe Eggman had something to do with this! After all he would have a lot to gain if all of us were no longer friends. He could mind controlling Sonic or maybe he replaced the real Sonic with a robot. That could explain why his skin was cold because it's metal and not skin!"

Knuckles immediately shook his head, "I'm going to come out and say right now that I KNOW Eggman isn't behind this. I think it has something to do with… Suicide Lake."

"WHAT?! Something is clearly wrong with our friend and you go with that stupid lake?!" exclaimed Miky incredulously.

"My intuition is never wrong! When I punched him and I had my hands around his throat, I looked into his eyes and it was so dark and his skin was so cold, my thoughts went right to that lake. Something there must have affected him." Argued the dread-sporting guardian. "I have a hunch that there is more to the Legend of Suicide Lake."

"But none of us saw any ghosts in that lake! It's not haunted! It's just dumb empty lake! Why are we even discussing this?! Sonic needs our help and we're talking fairy tales!"

"It's our only lead! My gut is telling me that we need to pursue this. Just keep an open mind, alright?"

Miky sighed with annoyance as she crossed her arms, "Fine… I'll try. But I make no guarantees."

"Good." Knuckles took the Miles Electric back from Miky and after a few seconds of staring at the screen he asked, "Now how the hell to do you search stuff?"

"How should I know? I've never used it."

"Chaos help us…"

* * *

><p>After hours and hours of searching, Miky and Knuckles finally found something in the Miles Electric's archives, which Tails had often bragged was more extensive than even Spagonia University's library. Knuckles pointed out a newspaper article from decades ago, back before huge cities with huge skyscrapers were even dreamed off, "Look at this Miky! 'Missing Young Man Discovered To Have Drowned Himself in Forest Lake. No Body Recovered Yet.' This must be the first suicide to have taken place in that lake."<p>

Miky scanned over the article with Knuckles, "I think your right! It sure sounds like that creepy old lake. They found his engagement ring along with a suicide note. Apparently he said in the note that he cheated on his fiancé with an 'evil beauty'. What does that mean?"

"I don't know but let's keep looking for more suicides." As the two continued their research they uncovered many more suicides at the lake, all of them drownings with the bodies never recovered. After counting ten suicides, Knuckles said, "Ok, I think I have an idea about what happened to Sonic. I think…" Miky looked at him, ears perked and awaiting his speculation. "I think he's possessed."

Immediately Miky's face went from curious to skeptical, "And how exactly did you come up with that?"

"Because, look at all of these suicides! That's a lot of lives ended early and a lot of restless spirits. One of the entities haunting the lake must have possessed Sonic when he fell in. That would explain why he's acting like he is and it makes sense. I'm not a medium and I don't 'see things' but I do have a 6th sense that never steers me wrong and when I sensed that whoever came to Angel Island was another person entirely."

"Oh my gosh…" Miky rubbed her temples to fight the headache that was forming as she asked slowly, "Ok… let me get this straight. You think a ghost, like the spirit of a dead person, has jumped inside Sonic's body and is controlling him?"

Knuckles nodded, "Yes. If we find out whom and why, we might be able to figure out how to get our Sonic back. You said you would keep an open mind."

"I said I would TRY but this is a little too much. Possession? What evidence do we have that supports that other than one lake that's seen a lot of death?"

"Well, I remember in the weeks following the night at the lake, he was awful fidgety and nervous. He always seemed to be listening for something and he kept asking me and Tails if he looked ok. He looked fine to us but he never seemed convinced; it was really weird. Did you notice anything else strange about Sonic?"

"Ummm…" Miky gasped as she remembered the day she had gone to pick up '1001 Arabian Nights'. "Actually, the day Sonic randomly kissed me, I went to his house to borrow a book. I knocked on the door and when I didn't get an answer, I thought he went out. I gave him a call and I could hear his communicator ringing inside so I let myself in. When I came into the living room he was laying on the floor. His skin was pale and cold and he looked almost like he was dead. I had to slap him to get him to wake up and he told me he had been having really vivid nightmares about the lake. And when he came to my house and… really started acting strange, I asked him why he was doing it, he just grinned this awful grin and said, 'Because he's watching.'"

Knuckles' eyes widened, "That's certainly odd and you cannot deny that's its compelling evidence. Especially that last bit!"

"I guess but I'm still really skeptical about this. Why would any of the spirits at the lake, if there are any to begin with, want to possess Sonic? Isn't usually evil spirits that do that sort of thing? I remember correctly, all of the suicides were all by heart-broken young males."

"Wait a minute you're right!"

"Thank you! Now can we get back to looking at logical explanations?"

"No, I meant your right about all of the suicides! Let me see the Electric." Knuckles took the tablet and began to scroll back through the articles of each suicide, "Look, all of these guys were engaged, married, or in a committed relationship! And in all of their notes they mentioned defiling their relationship with an 'evil beauty', 'the devil in woman's form', 'a she-demon'! Do you think they're all talking about the same woman?"

Now it was Miky whose eyes flew open as she gasped, "I think we need to stop looking at suicide articles, and start looking for one about a murder!"

* * *

><p>Sonic awoke on the floor of his bedroom with a gasp which end in a coughing fit. He was flat on his back looking at his ceiling gasping for breath as he tried to move or get up but every movement sent pins and needles through his body. "Owowowow…" Sonic mumbled through his teeth. As he grimaced, his nose began to ache horribly. With great effort, the hero managed to raise a hand to his nose. It felt broken and when he looked at his hand, his fingers were covered in blood. He was confused at first before remembering smacking his face into the barrier when trying to take back his body. 'Whoa… I didn't think that would carry over…' thought Sonic as he gingerly touched his nose again and winced at the pain. He let his hand drop onto his chest and cried out slightly as the muscles seized up. "OK, ok. I gotta get up, I gotta get up." As Sonic tried to sit up, the pins and needles jolted through every fiber of muscle and in the end, all he had managed to do was roll over onto his side. He laid there trying to catch his breath and not let the horrible pain get the best of him. As his eyes began to water and he bit down on his lip to keep from whimpering, Sonic turned his gaze upwards and prayed to Gaia that he would find the strength to overcome this and win the wager for his very soul.<p>

* * *

><p>It was getting to be late in the afternoon when Miky and Knuckles finally found what they were looking for. Along the way they had discovered many more suicides committed at the lake. Most of them were male and one or two were females but all of them had heart-broken and had had their relationships ruined by what seemed to be the same cunning, awful woman. At last, they had a name and a face for their prime spirit suspect.<p>

"You know, I would never say murder is the answer, but it kinda sounded like this woman had it coming." Said Miky as she skimmed the article, "I'm surprised people still got with her at all! It says here, 'Beatrice the Weasel was known for her promiscuity and for tempting committed men on purpose.' She was the town tart! You think all the guys would know to stay away."

Knuckles shrugged, "Beautiful women do strange things to men, even ones who are spoken for. But regardless I think a shotgun blast to the face was a bit much. 'A gang of local women (names not known) is thought by authorities to be responsible for Beatrice's shooting on the lake's shore.' Talk about poetic justice…"

"So… let's say you're right, about Sonic being… gosh I can't believe I'm saying this…" Miky paused and took a deep breath before finishing, "possessed. Do you think the spirit of Beatrice did it?"

Knuckles was silent for a long time as he thought and stared at the newspaper picture of Beatrice before saying slowly, "I don't think… I know. Her eyes… it's just like what I saw in Sonic…" He suddenly looked up at Miky his face serious, "We need to go back to the lake. It's where this whole thing began so I think it's the best place to look for the answer on how to end it."

"How? What answers could we possibly find at the lake?" asked Miky with her hands on her hips, "This whole notion is really stretching it. I suppose next you'll be suggesting that we perform an exorcism!"

"I don't see you coming up with anything else! This is our best lead and we have to follow it. You said you would be open-minded so are you going to help me or not?"

Miky shook her head as she began to walk towards the bridge leading off Angel Island, "I must be crazy, cuckoo, out of my mind! Let's go before I come to my senses!" With a shrug and a shake of his own head, Knuckles snatched up the Miles Electric and followed her.

* * *

><p>"Rrrggh… AH! Come on!" growled Sonic through his teeth as he slowly pulled himself up onto his knees by using his bed for support. Every muscle in his body was protesting and he could feel his strength leaving him as he grasped at the covers on his bed to keep from falling backwards. The blankets began to slide off the bed, making Sonic dig in with his fingers to grab hold of the sheet below. Once he was stable he pulled himself up more, managing to get one foot under him. Planting his hands on the bed, Sonic took a deep breath before pushing up with all his might. It took what felt like forever, but at last Sonic was on his feet; he wasn't steady, but at least he was upright. With a shaky little laugh of triumph, he made his way to the bedroom mirror by supporting himself on the furniture. The pins and needles were now slowly fading and his joints and muscles began to loosen bit by bit as he moved.<p>

Sonic stood in front of the mirror, leaning on the dresser it sat on and grinned, "Ha. Cheaters never win, Beauty."

_The entity appeared in the glass, and with a toss of her head she scoffed, "I wouldn't get too cocky. You still have to find your friends and get them to forgive you. Plus, I don't know if you knew but, tonight is a full moon and it's already getting late in the afternoon."_

"WHAT?! That's bogus! I've been lying on the floor trying to get up for the past two hours because you wouldn't let me into my body!"

"_Well, it's not my fault that when I first tried to gain control you fought me at every turn. You would have had more time but instead you decided to resist."_

"How was I supposed to know?! And why wouldn't I resist? I'm not going to let some random, unknown force take over my body!"

"_Tick Tock." Mocked Beauty as she tapped her wrist, "You're burning daylight. I would argue less and get going."_

"Fine, but I'm still going to win this bet!" threatened Sonic as he turned away. 'In this state I would never make it to Tails' house and even if I did, it would take everything I have. Maybe I can get him to come to me? Where's my communicator?' thought Sonic as he scanned the room for it. When he didn't see it, he figured it might be in the living room. Leaning heavily on the walls and furniture, the hero made into the living room where he spotted the communicator lying on his coffee table. While he wanted to sit down on the couch, Sonic knew it was unwise; if he sat down, he might not be able to get up.

Bending as little as possible, he picked up the device and called Tails. It rang and rang till it went to voicemail. Not giving up, Sonic called again, hoping his friend had simply not heard his communicator. However this hope was dashed as the call was cut short after only one ring and was directed to voicemail. As the directions played Sonic stared at his communicator and whispered, "He hung up on me… He didn't even answer…"

"_Of course he did. Don't you remember all of the horrible things you said to him? I wouldn't answer either." Echoed Beauty's voice as she appeared in the shiny surface of the coffee table._

"Shut up! You said all of those things, NOT me!" The beep that signaled a voicemail could be recorded sounded and Sonic opened his mouth to say something but quickly closed it. What was he to say? How could he explain this whole crazy thing in a one minute voicemail? Would Tails even listen to it? Regardless, he knew he had to try, "Tails, it's me Sonic. Look I know you're mad at me because I was a giant douche to you but I can explain. It wasn't my fault, I wasn't… myself. Its long story but please call me back or just come to my house when you get this message. I would come to you if I could but I can't. I'm sorry little bro, I really am. You have to believe when I say that-"

"MAX VOICEMAIL LENTGH REACHED. HANG UP TO SEND OR PRESS 1 TO RE-RECORD." Said the automated female voice. Sonic sighed as he hung up and sent Tails a text message repeating his voicemail. A small loading icon appeared next to the text as it began to send before suddenly being eclipsed by a red 'X'. An error message popped up that read, 'This number has blocked your text messages and will not receive them.'

* * *

><p>"Come on Tails don't do this to me!" shouted Sonic at his communicator. Becoming increasingly upset, he dialed Miky twice, both going to voicemail after several rings. He shot her a text as well and while it went through, he sincerely doubted she would answer. Sonic began to dial Knuckles but as the line began to rang, he hung up. "If Miky and Tails don't want to talk to me, why would Knuckles? Do they really believe I would ever be that horrible to them…?"<p>

_Beauty faded onto the reflective screen of Sonic's communicator, "They obviously do. I mean think about it: if they had treated you that way would you talk to them ever again? Besides that red guy didn't seem to like you very much from the get-go. It didn't take much at all for him to kick you to the curb."_

"Maybe… No. I can't give up! They wouldn't give up on me!"

"_But that's just it; they already have. Face it, the sun is starting to go down and soon the full moon will rise. You lost. Your body and soul are mine. Save yourself the trouble and simply concede."_

"But… I've never surrendered in my life… I never lose a bet…" muttered Sonic as he stood in his living room, staring at his communicator. He knew that he shouldn't give up, that he should keep trying to reach one of his friends or try to go to them but the thoughts and emotions that he had been pushing down this whole time were finally too powerful to ignore. "They actually think I said and did all of those things… Miky thinks that was ME forcing myself on her… Tails thinks that was ME going back on everything I'd ever said to him as a friend and as a brother… Knuckles thinks that was ME who was being an absolute jerk to him on purpose… How could they actually believe it even for a second? They know me… They know I would never… I would never… never…" Tears began to stream from Sonic's eyes and run down his cheeks as the horrible truth dawned on him.

"_That's right." Said Beauty, her evil grin distorted by a tear that had landed on the glass of the communicator screen, "They didn't know you as well as you thought they did."_

"No… shut up…"

"_They weren't the amazing friends that you thought would be by your side until the very end."_

"Stop it!"

"_Admit it, as soon as this bet began you knew this was going to happen. You thought you would be tough enough to face the truth but you're not."_

"Shut up!"

"_You're not tough enough to face the reality staring you in face! The friendships that you loved so much and thought were unbreakable were in fact as fragile as glass and now they're gone. You have no one! You're alone, all of your worst fears have been realized, and you can't handle it!"_

"I SAID 'SHUT UP'!" screamed Sonic as he threw his communicator on the ground where it shattered into a million pieces. He stood where he was, panting, the tears flowing freely, staring at the remains of the communicator. "Fine… You win Beauty… you win… Happy?" he managed to choke out as he rubbed his eyes and buried his face in his hands.

_The sadistic weasel's image reappeared on the shiny coffee table as she replied with a sneer, "I'm ecstatic. Now go back to the lake so we can finish this already. I'm eager to claim my prize."_


	9. Collision Course

**Chapter 9**

Knuckles and Miky were running through the Emerald Forest in search of the path to Suicide Lake when they stopped in front of a tree to catch their breath. In a fit of frustration, Miky lightly kicked the trunk and groaned, "Ugh, this is the fifth time we've passed this stupid tree! I know the path was right around here! Why can't we find it?"

"Maybe we have to wait until nighttime so the full moon will light the way. That's how we found it last time and according to the legend it's the ONLY way to find it." suggested Knuckles as he looked around. "The bad thing is though I wanted to get there BEFORE dark."

"The legend is full of it! We must have taken a wrong turn somewhere, that's all. It's not some hocus pocus or fairytale nonsense that's stopping us from getting to the lake."

The red echidna folded his arms and frowned, "After everything we've uncovered you're STILL acting like that? What's it going to take for you to believe what's happing right now is real? Do you have to have a ghost pop up in your face to make you believe?"

"Sure if such a thing existed! We found some pretty weird coincidences and stuff like that but we shouldn't be trying to find this stupid lake; we should be trying to find Sonic! Because whether he's possessed or not he's out there somewhere doing Chaos knows what! I know I said I would try to believe and I've never tried harder to believe in something but the stupid story is bogus and I'm going to prove it by finding the darn place before dark! Now come on, let's go this way."

"We already went that way! What makes you think you can find it?"

Miky glared as Knuckles over her shoulder as she began to walk, "Because I'm using my sense of direction, not NONsense."

"Fine than, lead the way!" scoffed the guardian as he followed, "I'm telling you though, we've gone this way."

* * *

><p>On the other side of the forest, Sonic was stumbling through the undergrowth, barely able to pick up his feet to step over rocks, roots, and small bushes. He stopped and leaned against a tree to catch his breath. While his muscles no longer had pins and needles, he still felt weak in the knees and every step took a lot of effort. Sonic glanced up to see the sky beginning to turn slightly orangey-pink as the sun began its decent.<p>

"_Why did you stop? We need to get to the lake before the moon rises." Nagged Beauty's voice in Sonic's head._

"Well excuse me if I'm a little tired because you've feeding off my energy! You wanna get to the lake so bad? Than help me out here!" the exhausted hero snapped back as he started forward again.

"_Stop your whining and keep going!" _It was quiet as Sonic shuffled along save for his labored breathing. After a few minutes Beauty spoke again, _"You know, you really gave me a run for my money. I haven't come across someone like you in a long time but never did I meet someone who would so foolishly bet their body and soul! But don't worry; I can't imagine it would hurt much more than any of the others."_

Sonic rolled his eyes as he asked skeptically, "I doubt you're telling the truth. What did you to the other people before me?"

_She chuckled as if she remembered a joke, "Oh well, I'd siphon off every living ounce of energy they had until they either couldn't stand the suffering and kill themselves or they wasted away to nothing. The good news is you won't have to go through that."_

"Than what are you going to do with me? I don't know if you've noticed but I'm a dude and you're a chick. If you're going to take over my body for good, isn't that going to be a little awkward for you?"

"_Eh, it's a minor problem that's none of your business. Now pick up the pace." Ordered Beauty. 'Hmph; he's such a fool. With all of the energy and power I'm going to get from his soul, gender will be the least of my problems.' She shuddered in excitement as she thought, 'To think, I'll no longer be confined to that damned lake, staying hideous and disgusting until a victim comes along only to fade back to being ugly once their energy fades. No, thanks to Mr. Hero I'll be beautiful again and I'll stay beautiful! I'll be alive again and free to do whatever I please!'_

* * *

><p>Knuckles and Miky were still walking through the Emerald Forest as the soft, orange sunlight of evening time shown through the forest canopy. They had been walking for a good ten or twenty minutes and Knuckles was getting impatient. His gut told them they needed to get to Suicide Lake as soon as possible. He still wasn't entirely sure why but he knew that it just might answer many of their questions. The guardian looked at Miky as she walked ahead of him, each of her steps was determined and sure-footed and this was matched by the serious look on her face. Knuckles sighed inwardly as he thought about her unwillingness to believe in what was going on.<p>

He knew it was difficult to believe that Sonic could be possessed by some angry, vengeful spirit that was hell-bent on ruining his life but what else could it be? They had no other plausible explanations; none that made sense anyways. An inkling of doubt began to creep into his mind as he began to think about it more. It was a pretty crazy notion, what if he was wrong? Knuckles thought about Sonic's behavior, trying to come up with a better explanation, and he suddenly remembered when he was looking into his eyes. The chill went up his spine again as the image of Beatrice the Weasel flashed before him. No, he wasn't wrong. For whatever reason, this Beatrice had possessed Sonic and Knuckles' intuition was telling him that if they didn't get to that lake, something awful was going to happen.

"Knuckles look!" shouted Miky, breaking Knuckles away from his thoughts. "Over there, in that cluster of trees! Doesn't it look a darker in there to you?"

The red echidna looked where she was pointing and replied in surprise, "Yeah… the sunlight isn't shining through the leaves. But, I bet the light of the full moon would be able to! That's the path; you found it Miky!" Knuckles charged off ahead towards the darkness, feeling much more nervous than he did the first time he had come this way with his friends

"Told ya I would!" called out Miky as she was right on his heels with a triumphant grin on her face, "Now let's hurry up and find whatever you're looking for!" In no time they burst out of the trees and came to stop on the pebbly shore of Suicide Lake.

Knuckles shuffled his feet back and forth in small, gravel-like rocks, as he breathed in the cold, damp air, "Its quiet… there's not even the sound of the water lapping on the rocks… Everything is so cold and still… like death."

Miky looked around as she bent and picked up a rock, "It's creepy that's for sure. So what are we looking for anyways?" She pulled her arm back to throw the stone into the lake but Knuckles grabbed her wrist to stop her, "What?"

"I'm trying to listen. There's something more to this place I know it; I picked up on it a little the first time ewe came here. I just need time to... feel it again." Miky looked around, confused as to what he was talking about but never the less she lowered her arm and put down the pebble.

"What did you feel?" she whispered. 'Wait, why am I whispering?' thought Miky to herself, 'You aren't actually buying into this baloney are you?' she shivered and hugged herself as the cold air began to soak into her fur. 'It's just a stupid lake! But…' She looked out at the lake, the water looking black and icy. As the sun set further, shadows were creeping in on all sides and for some weird reason, Miky could feel her heart rate quicken slightly. 'I do feel a little… weird now that I'm just standing still… Ugh… my skin is crawling… is this what Knuckles meant by intuition and feeling stuff?'

"I felt a rage… It's difficult to explain but I could feel this anger overpowering all the sadness that also exists here." Knuckles continued walking as he closed his eyes. He wasn't a medium or anything like that but every living being gave off Chaos energy and he could sense that energy. He knew that sometimes through different circumstances, a place could become soaked in that energy and an imprint would be left behind. Knuckles often felt these imprints when he visited the Mystic Ruins. He would be completely alone and yet he could sense the energy of his ancestors pulsing through the place as if they were still walking the paths going about their lives.

Miky looked over her shoulder, finding herself becoming nervous at all of the shadows shifting around them as the sun traveled across the hidden sky above them, "So… if all of the sadness came from the people who killed themselves… would the anger come from Beatrice because she was murdered?"

Knuckles nodded as he continued to walk, letting his intuition guide him, "Yes…" He suddenly stopped and his eyes flew open. The rage was stronger than it had ever been before and as he looked down at the rocks beneath his feet, Beatrice's face flashed before him and he could have sworn a shotgun blast was echoing in his ears. He stepped away from the imprint and exhaled heavily, unaware he had been holding his breath, "Here. She was shot here. They shot her in the face and dumped her body in the lake, just like the article said."

"Well ok but what does that have to do with Sonic?"

"I don't know yet but I can tell you this; from what the article said she was a woman who valued her beauty more than anything else. When they blasted her in the face with a shot gun, they took that away and she was really pissed off about it." Knuckles exhaled again as he took another few steps back from where Beatrice was killed, "Really, really pissed off."

* * *

><p>Sonic stopped within the shadow of a tree to catch his breath. He didn't know whether it was because he was beginning to feel a little dizzy but the hero could swear he was walking in circles. Every time he would he try to mention this to Beauty, however, she would insist she knew where she was going and send him off in a direction. Twilight was quickly waning and in no time the moon would be rising in the sky. The more the light faded, the faster Beauty drove Sonic on. He had to rest more frequently and for longer. His feet felt like lead and the numbness was beginning to creep back into his limbs. Sonic raised a shaky hand to wipe the sweat from his face as he asked, "Which way?"<p>

"_That way, to the right." Replied Beauty, "And hurry up! It's almost completely dark!"_

"I'm going, I'm going. Yeesh…" Sonic began to go forward when he spotted something on the ground that gave him pause. In the dirt of the path was two sets of prints; he recognized them as the ridged bottom of Knuckles' shoes and the smooth sole of Miky's boots. At first he thought the prints were from when they had all visited the lake but he quickly realized that these tracks were recent and the prints from Tails' or his own shoes were nowhere to be seen.

"_Stop wasting time and get moving! What are you doing?!"_

Sonic resumed walking as he answered, "Nothing, just trying to not to pass out. I'm dizzy."

"_Well you won't have to worry about it for much longer. Keep moving!"_

* * *

><p>"Ok, so we know that a whole bunch of guys committed suicides here because Beatrice made them ruin their relationships. Than a whole bunch of women got together and shot her in the face her and dumped her body in the lake." Recounted Miky as she glanced up, straining to see the sky through the thick canopy of leaves, "So let's say that she did become a ghost and now she's raving mad about it. Why would she possess Sonic and trash his life? What would she have to gain?"<p>

Knuckles rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Maybe she's looking to make people as miserable as she is… but I think there's a little more to it than that. Do you feel the emptiness here? It's like a hungry black hole that will never be satisfied. No, she wants more than just to make others suffer. I feel like if we can figure out what we could stop this…"

Miky sighed sadly, "If only Tails was willing to help us… He really thinks Sonic has turned against him… Surely Tails HAS to know something is wrong?"

"Did you immediately know something was wrong? He could still be too angry or hurt to think about it rationally. Still, his help would be nice…" Suddenly, the sound of snapping twigs and rustling bushes could be heard coming their direction. "Quick, hide!" Knuckles drove into the undergrowth surrounding the lake as Miky leapt up into one of the trees. They exchanged worried glances as the noises became louder and both of them had to hold back gasps when Sonic at last stumbled into view.


	10. Final Ripples

**Chapter 10**

"We're here before moon rise. What now?" said Sonic as he stood on the shore, hands on his knees and panting. He was silent for a few seconds before speaking again, as if replying to someone, "Fine I don't care. You won your stupid bet and you've officially ruined my life; I simply don't care." Miky looked at Knuckles with confusion, disbelief, and fear as he threw her an 'I told you so' glare. They both expressed shock as they saw Sonic walk over to Jumping Rock and, with great difficultly, hoist himself up and walk to the edge.

Miky swung down from the trees yelling, "Sonic, STOP! What the heck are you doing!?"

The blue hero whirled around, utterly surprised, "Miky!? What are you doing here?!"

"We came here to find answers." Answered Knuckles as he emerged from his hiding place, "Why are you here and why are you up on that rock?"

"Because, I made a bet with Beauty, a spirit that was in the lake. When I fell in that night she took over me and made me act like a total jackass to you guys. The deal was if I can get you guys to forgive me before the moon rises tonight, she leaves and never hurts anyone again but if I lose she gets my body and soul. And well…" Sonic looked down into the waters of Suicide Lake, "I lost…"

"No, you haven't Sonic! We know you weren't acting like yourself and we're here looking for a way to help you!" said Miky as she climbed up onto the rock next to him. She reached out her hand, "And if forgiveness is all you need, then I'll give you every ounce I have. I forgive you Sonic, just please come down off this rock."

Sonic stared at Miky's outstretched hand in disbelief, "You knew? You knew that I would never do something so awful to you?"

Knuckles now joined them on the rock with his own hand extended towards Sonic, "Well she had a little help from me. I knew from the moment you stepped onto Angel Island that something was wrong. I forgive you too Sonic; none of this is your fault."

"You guys…" tears began to well up in Sonic's eyes, "for a while it looked like you honestly thought I could ever hurt you like that and you have no idea how much that hurt but… it's so good to know otherwise. I shouldn't have doubted you for a second!" Sonic graciously took his friends' hands, squeezing them tightly and trying not to cry. Just as they were about to carefully descend from Jumping Rock, moonlight began to break through the thick layers of leaves and illuminate the lake. As it began to glow with the full moon's light, mist rolled in from out of nowhere and it began to feel even colder than before. Suddenly, Sonic began to shake uncontrollably and he grimaced in pain.

"Sonic are you alright?!" exclaimed Miky as the blue hedgehog's eyes suddenly went wide and a darkness flooded them.

"He's going to be anything BUT alright you ignorant SLUT!" spat Sonic angrily as he yanked his hands away. "You're too late to save him!" Once again, he shuddered and his eyes went wide before he shouted, "NO! They forgave me!"

Without warning, a huge geyser of cold, black water shot up from the lake and the image of Beatrice became visible in the upwards torrent as she grinned and declared, _"While that may be true, your fox friend didn't! Even he showed up right now, it wouldn't matter; the moon is in the sky and I've won!"_

Miky's mouth dropped open as she barely managed to whisper, "Oh my Chaos! That's the same woman from the article! Knuckles, you were right!"

"I told you my intuition was never wrong!" replied Knuckles, "Listen Beatrice, we know you were killed her and that made you angry but that doesn't give you the right to ruin the lives of others!"

"Beatrice? You told me your name was Beauty!" asked Sonic in confusion as he slowly began to back away from the edge of Jumping Rock.

_"Beauty was always my nickname but none of that matters now! A pack of jealous whores like YOU,"_ hissed Beatrice as she pointed at Miky, _"Took away my beauty and now, with all the energy I'm going to get from this idiot's soul, I'll reclaim my beautiful face and it'll stay that way forever!"_

Having recovered from her initial shock Miky shot back, "Well you deserved it! Do you know how many relationships you ruined? How many people drowned themselves in this lake because of you!? Sonic doesn't deserve to suffer! YOU DO!"

The surface of the lake began to bubble and the geyser strengthened as Beatrice shouted, _"SHUT YOUR MOUTH! He made a bet with me and he lost! Now I get to claim my prize!"_ Before anyone could react, the female weasel's hand shot out from the geyser and dug into Sonic's chest. He cried out in pain as she pulled and a shimmering, see-through image of the blue hero began to separate from his body. Beatrice yanked and the image and Sonic's body began to fall forward into the geyser. Miky and Knuckles grabbed onto Sonic's shoulders and started to pull against her. Sonic was screaming at the top of his lungs as it felt like he literately being torn apart.

"Knuckles!" cried Miky in horror, "I'm losing my grip!"

"Don't let go!" he yelled back, "Hang in there Sonic!" The azure hedgehog was doing his best to pull against Beatrice as well but the pain was so intense from his soul being peeled from his body bit by bit, he was practically limp.

As he felt his shoes beginning to slide forward on the smooth surface of Jumping Rock sonic shouted to his friends, "It's no use, just let me go or you're going to get pulled in with me!"

"NEVER! We're not giving up!"

"Friends don't give up on each other!" chimed in Miky as she tried to get a better grip.

"Grrr… so you want to do things the hard way? FINE!" shouted Beatrice as several smaller geysers exploded from the lake and soaked the friends. As the water touched them, it burned their skin and while they cried out in pain, Miky and Knuckles held onto to Sonic. Growing ever frustrated, Beatrice summoned up a sizeable wave and slammed it into Jumping Rock. Unable to fight the current as it washed over the rock, Miky and Knuckles lost their grip on Sonic and he tumbled screaming into the geyser, disappearing completely. At once the lake ceased to move, becoming placid once more save for some slight bubbling here and there.

* * *

><p>Miky and Knuckles were clinging to the side of Jumping Rock from the wave and as they hoisted themselves up, Miky began to panic, "We lost him! What do we do Knuckles!?"<p>

"I-I don't know what to do Miky! I'm as lost as you are!" he replied as he stared out over the water, "Who knows how deep they are or where they are."

"Well we have to do something! We can't just stand up here and do nothing! We have to-"

"Panicking isn't going to get us anywhere Miky." Said a familiar voice. They whirled around to see Tails skidding to a stop on the shore. He had several loops of cable across his chest and a large bag on his shoulder, "I saw Sonic go in as I was running up the path. We have to follow."

"Tails, what are you doing here?! I thought-" began Knuckles before Tails cut him off.

"I'll explain everything later! Right now we need to focus on saving Sonic!" He removed the cables and tossed one to each of them, "Tie these around yourselves and make sure their good and tight. You're going to need these respirator masks too. They have radios so we can still communicate."

Miky knotted her cable tightly around her waist, "Tails, how did you know what was going on and that we would need all this?"

"What I lack in punctuality, I make up in preparedness. Again, I'll explain later." Tails tied his own cable and attached all of them to a stake which he drove into the ground, "There, that'll help us from ending up like every other body that's disappearing into this lake."

"This is fine and dandy but how are we going to find Sonic? We just barely managed to do it last time because it was so dark." Pointed out Knuckles as he tested the strength of his knot.

"With this." Tails pulled out the camera that Beatrice had destroyed. It was fixed up like new and in addition it had a large light mounted on the top. "Long story short, this will help us find them by tracking energy spikes and we'll be able to see where we're going with this mini-spotlight. Come on let's go!" The three put on their respirator masks and dove into Suicide Lake after their friend.

* * *

><p>'NO, NOT THIS AGAIN!' thought Sonic in a panic as he fought against Beatrice's grip pulling him downward into the icy, dark water. His struggles were getting weaker and weaker as she pulled more and more of his soul from his body. He bit his tongue to prevent from screaming in pain and fear, knowing the lake would rush in to fill his lungs if he opened his mouth. With a powerful yank from the evil red-furred spirit, he felt himself rip<em>ped forward and it was impossible for him to hold back a scream. Sonic's hands flew to his mouth to keep the water out but he was shocked to find that nothing was coming in. He gasped again when he saw his hands were transparent and held a shimmering glow. He looked up to see Beatrice grinning evilly at him.<em>

"_Welcome to the other side." she cackled before lunging at him. _

"It's so dark, I can't even see two inches in front of my face." Grumbled Knuckles as they swam though the blackness.

Tails panned his device back and forth, watching the screen until flashes of purple appeared off to the right, "I've got something! This way you guys!" The young fox lit the way with the spotlight as they swam as fast as they could in the direction of the spikes.

"What's the plan when we find them?" asked Miky "I don't about you two but I've never fought a ghost before. I'm still trying to get over the fact they exist!"

"She's going to basically consume Sonic's soul to make herself extremely powerful and take over his body. If that happens, there'll be no stopping her! We need to prevent that and destroy her spirit."

"That still doesn't answer my question. How are we going to destroy her spirit?"

Knuckles now spoke up, "The only way to destroy a spirit is to remove its tie to the world of the living and banish it completely so it can never come back. Her tie to this world is this lake so we need to destroy the lake to destroy her. But obviously we need to get Sonic out of here first."

"We're getting close, they're over this way!" shouted Tails as they adjusted their course.

* * *

><p>"<em>Get away from me!" cried Sonic as he shoved Beatrice away from him. Every time she touched him a horrible sensation shot through him and a piece of him faded. His left arm was almost completely gone and his body was covered in dim patches. <em>

"_Why do you always have to resist? Can't you accept the fact that you've lost? What kind of hero doesn't honor his word?" she taunted as she circled him. Beatrice lunged again but Sonic was able to narrowly avoid it. "It would hurt a lot less if you just stood still!"_

_The weakening hero dodged again as he retorted, "Normally I do honor my word but you were wrong Beatrice! My friends didn't give up on me and they knew that something wasn't right! They believed in me and I believe they'll rescue me! So I'm not giving up, I'll never give up ever again!"_

"_Sure the girl and the red one showed up but where's the fox? Where's the one who was your BEST friend? Where's your supposed BROTHER?" Sonic stopped dead in his tracks at the mention of Tails and Beatrice seized the opportunity to rush forward and grab him by the throat. As she squeezed, Sonic could feel his energy being drained away and his consciousness fading._

* * *

><p>"Hurry, one of the energy signatures is fading fast!" urged Tails as they swam through the dark. Suddenly the device's spotlight illuminated Sonic's empty, lifeless body floating in front of them. "We found him! Quick, get him to the shore!"<p>

Miky put an arm around Sonic, "Hold on you guys, I'll use my telekinesis to get us out of here lickety- AH!" the red-haired raccoon doubled over as if she had been punched in the gut and struggled to catch her breath.

"_You're not going anywhere!" yelled Beatrice's voice in her head._

"Miky what the heck are you doing!?" exclaimed Knuckles as she slowly reached up towards her respirator mask.

"I-I-I can't stop myself! My hand is moving on its own!" Knuckles grabbed Miky's hand and tried to hold it down but even his strength was no match for Beatrice and all of the energy she had already gotten from Sonic.

Tails aimed his device at Miky and gasped, "Its Beatrice! She's trying to control you! Fight her Miky, fight her!"

"I'm trying!" Miky's finger tips touched the top of her mask as she tried to move it away. Knuckles pulled with all his might and even when Tails grabbed on to help, the two were only able to move her hand away a few inches.

* * *

><p><em>Sonic shook his head to clear it and looked around confused. Beatrice was no longer sapping his strength but he was still dizzy and weak. A ways away he spotted his friends all struggling with Miky as she was trying to pull off her respirator. Instantly he knew this was Beatrice's doing and that's why she had released him. He rushed over and grabbed Miky's hand as well, pulling with what energy he had left, "Come on Miky, you have to resist! The second that mask comes off you'll drown! Resist!" shouted Sonic, not knowing if they could hear him or not.<em>

* * *

><p>Miky's fingers were clawing at the respirator despite the efforts of her and her friends but suddenly she felt an extra boost of strength and summoning up all her will, she removed her hand from her face. "Get out of me, you evil bitch!" Miky shrieked as she forced her hand to her side. Instantly, the breathless feeling left her and she was in control of her limbs again.<p>

* * *

><p>"<em>What?! How is that possible?!" screamed Beatrice as she was kicked from Miky's body. She quickly spotted Sonic and lunged for him once more, "You! Why can't you just accept you're fate already!?" Sonic dodged the initial lunge and dart to and fro as fast as he could.<em>

'_If she gets her hands on me again, I'm done for!' he thought as he side-stepped a grab from Beatrice. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his friends take his body and make a beeline for the surface. After dodging another lunge, he followed as fast as he could, arm outstretched trying to grab ahold and somehow climb back into his body. Within seconds, Beatrice was on his heels._

As they ascended, Tails dropped a string of ring bombs behind them, the explosives sinking down into the depths of the lake. When they broke the surface, he dropped the last one, "Ok you guys, I just dumped a boat load of explosives in this lake. We have a minute till they go off so let's get the heck out of here!" The camera device began to beep rapidly and when Tails examined it he gasped and pointed to the shore, "She's following us! She's still after Sonic! Go, go go!"

"I'll take us to shore, just give me one moment…" Miky closed her eyes and focused. The yellow aura that signaled the use of her telekinesis surrounded her locket and slowly expanded to all of them.

"Hurry up Miky I don't want to get blown to bits or get caught by this homicidal spirit!" said Knuckles as he supported Sonic's body to keep it from sinking.

"Give me a second, you guys are heavy!" She concentrated harder and all four of them began to levitate out of the water.

_Sonic grabbed ahold of his physical body's foot as Miky began to lift them all out of the water. He could see her frowning in concentration and struggling not to drop them. As his waist cleared the surface of Suicide Lake he began to breathe a sigh of relief but suddenly Beatrice shot up out of the water and latched on to him, "You keep forgetting that your soul and your body belong to ME!" She began siphoning his energy again and despite all his efforts to shake her off, she held on. His body lost its shimmer and began to fade even more. His feet were none existent and his torso was fading as if it was being washed away. Sonic tried to stay alert and hang on but both his awareness and his grip were quickly slipping as the waters of the lake began to bubble again._

"We should have about 30 seconds till the bombs detonate. If you could lift us a little higher Miky, we'll be safe from the blast." Said Tails as he looked at his watch.

Knuckles looked down at the water and noticed the churning and bubbling, "There's something going on down there!" All at once a torrent of water shot up from below them, completely breaking Miky's concentration and causing them to fall back into the water. "Miky get us out of here!"

"Easier said than done!" yelled Miky as she struggled to stay afloat in the turbulent waters, "I can barely tread water let alone concentrate enough to lift all of us!" As they floundered about trying to keep themselves and Sonic above the water, a small muffled boom sounded and water flew up in another part of the lake.

"The detonation sequence started! We have to get out of here! Use the cables to pull you to shore!" cried Tails as he tried to do so. The waves from both Beatrice's power and the explosion sequence traveling towards them were so high and strong that everyone crashed over their hands they had to let go of their cables to prevent being tangled up in them.

"_You bastards! Stealing MY body and trying to blow up MY lake!? I'll teach you a lesson you won't soon forget!" snarled Beauty as she released her grip on Sonic and charged towards the surface. _

_Barely conscious Sonic watched as she was rapidly approaching his friends. He was in so much pain and all he wanted was to close his eyes and not feel it any more but he had to help his friends escape. Sonic shouted after her, "Miky was right; you deserved what happened to you! You may be beautiful on the outside but on the inside you're nothing but an ugly, disgusting, rotting old hag!"_

_Rage flared in Beatrice's eyes as she whirled around and tackled Sonic with so much force he slammed into the lake bed, "How dare you! Compared to me you're nothing but garbage! I'm going to make you suffer and then your friends are next!" _

"_Heh…heh…" chuckled Sonic weakly as he could feel the last of his strength leaving him, "I don't think so."_

"_Wha-?" Beatrice looked down at herself to see her dress molding and falling away from her body like wet tissue paper. Her cherry-red fur was losing its softness and shedding to reveal gray, water-logged, rotting skin. "No, no, no what's happening to me!?" The ring bomb explosions thundered around them, the heat evaporating the gallons of water instantly and throwing the rest into the air as steam. Huge craters were being punched into the lake bed, everything being pulverized by the concussive blasts. _

_Sonic grinned, "Your time is up Beatrice; you lose."_

"_NO! NO THIS ISN'T POSSIBLE! MY BODY, MY FACE!" she screeched as her hair fell out, exposing the hole left by the shotgun blast. An unidentifiable sludge oozed from the cavity as her skin peeled from her bones. "NO! NO! I WON'T BE UGLY AGAIN! I WON'T! GAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!" With one last banshee-like screech, Beatrice dissolved into a pile of bones and goo that liquefied into an ugly black dust. _

'_Well, she won't be hurting anyone else.' Thought Sonic as he looked up towards the surface, trying to spot his friends. 'I couldn't move if I tried but I hope the others got out ok.' The last ring explosion went off and everything went white._

"The water's too turbulent! We'll never make it!" yelled Tails as he tried to fly but was bogged by his soaking wet name-sakes.

"Everyone hang onto me!" shouted Miky as she tried to concentrate again, "I'll try and shield us!" Knuckles and Tails tried to grab onto Miky as the explosions got closer and closer, becoming more and more powerful. She tried to put up the shield but every time a wave shoved her down it broke her concentration. At last she grabbed Tails' and Knuckles' hands with Sonic still unconscious in the middle. Just as she got a field up, the last explosion detonated directly under them and sending them flying upward and roughly hitting the shore where they all laid unmoving.


	11. Calm Waters Once Again

**Chapter 11**

_He slowly opened his eyes with a weak groan. Everything was blurry at first but after a few blinks he realized he was staring at the bottom of his own shoe. 'But how..?' he thought. He tried to move but it was painful. He was so weak; it felt like most of him wasn't even there. Still, he had to try and move. He dug his fingers into the pebbly ground and pulled himself forward. It was slow going but he pulled himself past his ankle and when his looked up, he could see himself more clearly. He was lying on his back, eyes closed. His cerulean blue quills were soaked, dripping wet and he didn't appear to be breathing. _

_With a pained groan, Sonic reached out and grabbed his own hand but it phased right through. 'This is so surreal…' He crawled forward more until he was on top of himself, staring into his own, unconscious face 'Man, this is so weird… maybe if I…' Sonic rolled over and lay down on his back. He matched his legs to his body's and gasped as they froze up, almost like they had locked in place. Sure enough, when he tried to move them, they remained stationary. He started to lean backwards, wincing as more of him froze. It was if he strapping himself back into his body. He matched his hands and was laid flat on the ground. Not sure what to expect, he slowly turned his head to the side and closed his eyes. The locking sensa_tion came and his eyes flew open. Sonic sat up slowly, staring at his hands, unable to believe that he was finally back in his body. He looked around to see his friends lying on the gravel shore, unconscious. One by one, he crawled over to them and waked them up, each of them just as shocked to be alive as he was. For a few moments the four of them stared out at the ruins of the lake, trying to comprehend what had just happened. All of the water was completely gone and the lake bed was full of craters. Suicide Lake was now no more than a smoking hole.

* * *

><p>A few days later, after getting some much need rest, the group went back and, led by Knuckles, said a short prayer meant to banish any and all evil from ever existing there ever again. When they returned to Sonic's house, the mood was light and peaceful. Everything and everyone was back to normal. As they talked, Miky suddenly said, "Hey Tails, you never did explain how you knew to come to the lake and help us."<p>

The young fox shrugged as he sipped a glass of lemonade, "Well, I'll admit, she really had me at first but after I calmed down, I knew that something was wrong with Sonic so I decided to do a little digging to find out what. I eventually uncovered Beatrice's story and connected the dots as to what her plan was."

"Which was?"

"It took a whole lot of research to piece it together. You see, when Beatrice was killed by the shotgun blast to the face, it destroyed her beauty and that carried on into the afterlife. By draining the life from her victims, she regained her former beauty but only for a short while. The longer she went without a victim, the more ugly and decrepit she became. Than we come along. Beatrice possessed Sonic and started to sap his energy and grow strong. If she had succeeded in consuming his soul, she would have become a super-powered spirit with the ability to manipulate anything she wanted to in the living world; not just the lake she was connected too. She would have even been able to manipulate Sonic's body however she saw fit and go on to do Chaos-knows what!"

Sonic shuddered, "So that's how she was planning on dealing with that. Creepy!"

"If you had all this figured out, then why did you turn me and Miky away when we came to ask you for help?" asked Knuckles, "We sure as heck could have used it."

"I know, it's just that when you showed up, I didn't know what I was dealing with yet. I knew it had to do with the lake and since we were all there, I didn't know if whatever was affecting Sonic was affecting you guys too. That's why I gave you the Electric, just in case you were on my side. By the way, I want that back."

Miky scratched her head and laughed nervously, "Ha-ha, of course! If I can remember where we left it…" Tails face palmed and groaned with a shake of his head.

"Don't worry Tails, isn't time you came up with a Miles Electric 2.0 anyways?" teased Sonic. With a sly smile he turned to Miky and asked, "Sooo Miky, what's your take on the afterlife now?"

She frowned and crossed her arms, "I still think it's bogus."

"WHAT?!" exclaimed the guys in shock.

"Hahahaaha! Just kidding! You should've seen your faces! Hahaha!"

"So you do believe!" declared Knuckles as he shoved her lightly, "It took you long enough. Guess I was right about it taking a ghost popping up in your face. Maybe now you'll think twice about disregarding myths and legends."

The red-haired raccoon merely shrugged, "Depends on what it is. I finished 'Arabian Nights' Sonic and I'm still a little iffy about whether or not that actually happened."

"That makes two of us." Added Tails, "I mean really, imagine ME in a turban. Nope. That's all I have to say."

Knuckles nodded, "Better make it three, because I am a way better treasure hunter than Sinbad. Pfft, 'adventurer of adventurers' my foot."

"What, it really happened!" protested Sonic, "Does this mean I shouldn't tell you about the time I journeyed to Camelot, wielded a talking sword, and saved the whole kingdom?"

"Ok I KNOW that is made up!" said Miky as she pointed accusingly, "Amy told me you made that up to get out of a date with her!"

"Oh my gosh she told you that?! That's not how it happened! It happened like this: I was at my favorite chilidog stand and I had just gotten two fully loaded dogs when all of a sudden this cyclone appeared!"

Everyone groaned, "Oh come on! Do we look like we were born yesterday? Just stop Sonic."

"No, no I'm dead serious! This cyclone came out of nowhere and sucked me up! I almost drooped one of my chilidogs! So it drops me and there's all these bad guys and…" The others playfully booed Sonic as he tried to tell the story until he finally gave up and sat down in an exaggerated huff. They all laughed and enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the afternoon, glad and grateful to be friends. As they parted ways at dusk, Miky, Knuckles, and Tails all knew in their hearts that no matter what, they would always be friends and nothing could break them apart.

That night, as Sonic climbed into bed, he reflected on the harrowing ordeal they had just gone through. Soon his eyes became heavy with sleep, and he smiled: there was not a shred of doubt in his mind that his friendships would stand every test fate could possibly throw at them. No matter what he would stand by his friends and his friends would stand by him. That night, Sonic slept soundly; no nightmares, no tossing and turning, just a peaceful night's rest filled with good dreams.

_**The End.**_


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